


Amrâlimê 2: Reborn

by kiayea



Series: Amrâlimê [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Minor Character Death, Sentinel/Guide Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:33:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28320207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiayea/pseuds/kiayea
Summary: Legolas, youngest son of Thranduil, the king of Mirkwood, awakened as sentinel shortly after the dragon attacked Erebor, to the displeasure of his father. Years later, during the patrol in the darkened Mirkwood, he stumbled upon a group of dwarrows and immediately he became protective of them, especially a strangely familiar young dwarrowdam Gimli.
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Dwalin/Nori (Tolkien), Gimli (Son of Glóin)/Legolas Greenleaf, Kíli (Tolkien)/Tauriel (Hobbit Movies)
Series: Amrâlimê [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953877
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Translations: Lukhdel = light of all lights, Izgilê = my moon, Izgil = moon (bright silver-coloured one), amrâlimê = my love (love of mine), Ylva = wolf, Eirik = eternal ruler

* * *

**Prologue**

Thwack. An arrow hit the target. Thwack. Thwack. Lighteningly fast, twin arrows embedded deeply in the target alongside the first one, forming a perfect line. Legolas took a deep breath and aimed three arrows at once. It was a tricky shot, he attempted. Breath in. Breath out. In. Out. In. Out. The world narrowed down only to him and the target. Suddenly, he smirked and let the arrows loose. They hit the target simultaneously with loud thwacks and split the previous ones in half. 

It was calming, this exercise. No older siblings poking their noses into things they weren’t supposed to (like his life for example). No strict ada breathing down his neck. No gossiping court looking over his shoulder and pointing out any mistakes he made. Just his bow and arrows. And the target, of course. The clapping coming from the right side interrupted his concentration. Legolas rolled his eyes and put down his bow. “Tauriel.”

“Great shot, my prince. You are really the best archer in the realm.” Tauriel praised him. “Did you give a thought to my offer about joining the patrols?”

Legolas didn’t seem to hear her. He cocked his head thoughtfully and stared out into the woods. The darkness was creeping through the trees, slowly surrounding the heart of the elven realm and trying to suffocate all the life in the vicinity. “Maybe. It depends…” He trailed off. Something was niggling at his mind. Like he was forgetting something.

Tauriel hit his shoulder playfully. “Yes, or no. It’s not that hard to answer.” 

“For an ordinary elf that is not a prince, perhaps. But for me…” Legolas sighed and expounded. “The king is still refusing to grant my request to withdraw from the court and join the guard. Ada is about one more spider away from completely forbidding me to leave the palace grounds. And I’ve asked. Several times. All of my older siblings served in the guard for a time before returning to their duties in the court, but for some reason, the king is refusing my attempts at the same. I’m half-of-the-mind to take up ambassadorial duties and leave for Imladris or Lothlórien”

“Ah.” Tauriel backpedalled. She wasn’t going to get in the middle of that if she could help it. The relationship between the king and his youngest son was always fragile. And the death of the prince’s mother, when he was only a little elfling, didn’t help the matters. The king clearly didn’t know how to care for his youngest child without his wife. His other children were already adults, married and comfortably settled into their own lives when Legolas was born unexpectedly – one of the last elflings born in this Age. The large age gap ensured he was coddled by them, but not understood, as he often complained to her. It had to be suffocating at times to be the youngest scion of the royal family.

Suddenly, Legolas stiffened, tightening the hold on his bow, and unerringly turned his face to the east. Something was happening. Right now. In Erebor. A malevolent wind whistled through the trees, hitting him forcefully in the face. The ancient trees guarding the borders of their realm bowed under the pressure. Legolas hissed. A great evil was making its presence known to them. 

_Izgilê. It’s time for you to awaken._ A sweet and somewhat familiar female voice whispered inside his mind. _Wake up, sentinel. The world has a need for your talents again. Wake up, Izgilê, and do your duty._

Something inside him listened to the female and broke open, shattering the barriers he wasn’t even aware he possessed. Legolas bared his teeth in a feral snarl when he recognized the threat. It was a dragon and he was rapidly approaching the dwarf mountain. Uncomfortably close to their forest. He had to stop it. Now.

The world around them whitened and blue seeped around the edges of his vision. The air tinted blue and a male wolf stalked out of the psionic plane. He cocked his head and looked the elf prince up and down, measuring his worth. _You’ll do._ A growl invaded his thoughts unapologetically and in the same instant, the spirit animal weaved itself in his soul.

 _Eirik,_ the wolf’s name flashed through his mind. Legolas collapsed on the ground with a silent scream, as all of his senses spiked at the same time and easily overwhelmed the unprepared elf. 

_Control, sentinel._ The wolf grumbled. _Get control of your senses. Now. Come on. You are better than that._

“Legolas? What’s happening?” Tauriel kneeled, interrupting the wolf giving Legolas the advice, and took the shaking elf prince’s hands in hers. 

The newly-awakened sentinel keened highly in pain and thrashed, trying to get away from the elleth. The additional input, he was getting from her, was too grating on his currently overwhelmed psyche. 

The wolf materialized between the prince and Tauriel to warn her off. The elleth immediately backed off from the predator radiating that much of a standoffish attitude. She glanced at the prince, then at the wolf and back at the prince. And a preposterous idea bloomed in her mind. The wolf belonged to Legolas. To the new sentinel. 

Eirik huffed at her imperiously and nosed Legolas’s hand. The prince’s fingers unclenched and buried themselves in the wolf’s fur. The relief was immediate. Eirik buffered his sentinel from the worst, while simultaneously showing him the way to build some temporary shields. The creation of permanent ones would have to wait until he bonded with his guide. 

Little-by-little Legolas wrangled his errant senses back into some semblance of control. The deafening noises, the harsh smells, the distracting sights – all of that became muted. Well… muted for his new circumstances as sentinel. Legolas used that as his new base and slowly turned up his hearing. The wolf was grounding him in lieu of his guide. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take long for the compatible guide to finding him.

Tauriel sighed in relief. The predator wasn’t hurting her prince. Obviously, he was helping him. Thinking about the things she observed, the elleth was certain about her conclusions. Legolas awakened, probably as a sentinel, for some reason. What that reason was, she couldn’t fathom but it didn’t bode well for the near future. Because most elven gifted sailed a long time ago, unable to cope with the darkness spreading through the lands without check, even though Sauron was defeated at the end of the last Age, and no new awakened since then. So, the question was… why now?

 _What took you so long?_ Eirik’s voice growled inside the sentinel’s mind impatiently.

 _I don’t understand what you mean._ Legolas replied. He was aware of the changes he underwent, but couldn’t wrap his mind around the reason why him. _Don’t the gifted awaken only when there is a danger?_

The wolf sighed. He had his work cut out for him. _Not quite, Legolas. I promise to explain later. Now is not the time for questions. The dwarrow of Erebor need your help with a dragon attacking their city, trying to get inside their mountain. If he isn’t killed, it won’t end well for anyone. And you should also consider this – your father’s halls are located in the highly flammable woods. So, chop, chop, Legolas. Get to work._

“My prince? Legolas?” Tauriel asked hesitantly. The elf didn’t look good, judging by his pale pallor. His attention was engaged somewhere else as if he was monitoring some threat to her senses invisible. Suddenly, his demeanour changed. He seemed to be determined about something. 

The sentinel ignored her, intent on monitoring the dragon’s approach. There was still time to make it to the mountain in time. Perhaps, if he used that shortcut he discovered several weeks ago. The path was a bit overgrown but still usable. He whistled for his horse. 

“Legolas. Where are you going?” Tauriel asked again, using the commanding tone of her voice to finally get the answer from the elf sentinel.

“Erebor.” The prince snapped out the short answer and hopped on the horse’s back. Looking over his shoulder, he asked. “Come, Tauriel. We have to hurry.”

“What for?” The elleth wanted to know, torn between following the prince and her own unease with the entire situation.

“A dragon is attacking. Dwarrow need help. So, are you going, or not?”

Tauriel paled.

* * *

Legolas frowned, as he took in the situation. It was bad. Worse than bad. They came too late. The dragon was already flying around, attacking the human city and cruelly starting fire randomly at the farms at the foot of the Mountain. Everything was up in flames. The smell of burnt meat hit him like a dwarf fist in the face. The heartbreaking sight of the dragon’s victims was seared into his mind. Probably for the rest of his life. The sentinel had a really hard time to quell the urge to run in the middle of pandemonium taking place down in the valley.

“Don’t,” Tauriel said sharply when she realized what foolishness her companion had in mind. 

“They need our help.” Legolas objected while he tried to find a way to prevent the dragon from making more of the mess. A presence, followed by a feeling of disorientation tugged at his mind insistently and he turned his horse towards a rather large group of dwarrow that were fleeing their doomed city. The dragon was leaving them alone, for now, as he focused more on collecting the gold from the Dale and other near-by settlements, burning everything in his path.

Tauriel evaluated the situation and sighed. “No dragon-baiting Legolas. I mean it. We’ll help anyone fleeing the dragon’s wrath, be it human or dwarf, but no taking unnecessary risks. I don’t want to explain to your father and my king why his youngest child ended up burnt to a crisp if something goes wrong.”

“Fine with me.” Legolas snapped impatiently and galloped down to the nearest group of dwarrow in their hastily put together caravan. The first dwarf he met, gave off a peculiar feeling. Something that was equally strange and familiar. He was eyed with suspicion by the wounded young warrior, but for some reason, he was pointed towards their leader. 

Legolas bowed when he recognized the dwarf, much too young to bear the responsibility for his people. “Prince Thorin.”

“Prince Legolas.” The youngling politely returned the gesture with his own but staring down the elf in distrust. He was tense like he was waiting for Legolas to attack him. 

_Poor child._ Eirik whispered in his mind, as he shuffled towards a little bedraggled cat shuddering beside the dwarf prince. _To come into his gifts so young and in such a traumatic way. It won’t be easy for him._

 _Adolescent sentinel._ Legolas realized and sighed. That complicated things. From what he could remember from his teachings, it was highly unusual for a tween to awaken. Their mood swings made them highly unpredictable and therefore very dangerous if handled incorrectly.

 _Careful, Legolas._ Eirik warned him. _His instincts are on high alert. And he has something to protect._

The elf finally noticed two other children peeking from behind the young dwarf. His younger siblings, judging by their unmistakable resemblance. It was not good. But still, he attempted to reason with the young dwarf. “I offer your people and you the shelter in our lands. I give you my word, as a scion of the ruling family, to take you under my protection until the time you decide it’s no longer needed.”

Thorin relaxed slightly when the truthfulness of the elf’s words resonated through him. However, he was still hesitating to take the elf’s promise of the shelter seriously. His sister elbowed him none too gently to make him speak. “I accept.” The dwarf choked out. 

Tauriel sighed. The king wouldn’t like it. Not a little bit. It was an open secret amongst the elves that he detested the dwarrow. Legolas was shrewd to offer them the shelter under old laws. The king couldn’t turn them away without losing his face, considering most of the refugees were adolescents and young adults. She nodded and waved towards the forest. “Follow me. I’ll show you the shortest way to our lands. Legolas, please, be careful.”

The wagons moved under Tauriel’s direction to the elven lands. Legolas kept one eye on the proceedings and another on human’s attempts to kill off the flying beast. “Hurry up.” He shouted at Tauriel. The dragon finally noticed his most hated prey was fleeing to safety. 

Legolas grabbed his bow and arrows and took an aim on the dragon, whispering a quick blessing on his arrow. The wording just appeared in his mind out of nowhere but it felt right. It was probably a sign of Eirik’s silent support and encouragement. The sentinel felt prepared to match himself against the winged beast. 

“What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?” A fairly young redhead dwarf snarled. He was one of the stragglers. “You’ll call the dragon on our heads.”

“Hush, dwarf. Let me concentrate.” Legolas murmured and took a shot.

He didn’t miss. The arrow struck its target high on the dragon’s chest, loosening a scale. Legolas cursed. The shot needed a little more force to incapacitate the dragon. And his stunt grabbed the dragon’s attention. The elf nudged the redhead dwarf to follow his kin into the woods and faced the rapidly approaching beast.

“Sentinel.” The dragon snarled, recognizing the scent of power the foolish elf was drenched in. “Back off. This is my land, now.”

Legolas just knocked another arrow, preparing himself to fire again, and made his demands. “Let the dwarrow leave in peace. They asked for a sanctuary in my territory, therefore they are under my protection. Do you want to tangle with me?” The sentinel asked coldly, banking on the fact the dragon had no way of knowing, he was a newly awakened, and only one remaining amongst Mirkwood elves.

“Not particularly.” The dragon snorted, remembering a way ancient sentinels rose against his kin and managed to destroy them. He wasn’t about to attack the elf, especially if he didn’t know if there were more of his kind around. It would be foolish to attack without further information. In a few decades, he would be strong enough to kill even a cadre of elf sentinels. Smaug beat his wings and took off, crying out. “You stay out of Erebor, and I won’t raze your forest to the ground.” 

The wolf snarled threateningly. “Hush, Eirik,” Legolas said. They were at the stalemate. The situation wasn’t ideal but if the dragon stayed in the mountain for the foreseeable future, his people wouldn’t be put in danger. The dwarrow would be able to find another underground place to occupy quite easily. After all, there were a lot of unclaimed mountains in the Arda. 

But staring at the dragon rapidly moving towards Erebor, and sensing a restlessness in his wolf, Legolas knew the situation would come to a head one day. He just hoped it wouldn’t end blowing in his face.


	2. Part 1

_“Izgilê.” The dam cried out, as the sword pierced her stomach. She fell to her knees, clutching the wound in a desperate attempt to stave off the bleeding. The orc was smirking viciously and ripped his sword from her body. The coldness seeped around the edges of the dam’s consciousness and the pain stole her concentration. She felt her control slipping… Slipping… Slipping… Oh, no._

_Her shields shattered under the pressure and the unchecked feelings flooded the clearing. The dam levelled out the entire orc party when they were hit unexpectedly by her uncontrolled empathy. She had enough of the presence of mind to shield her bonded sentinel from the backlash. But it was a near thing. The effort robbed her of all of her strength. The dam sobbed out and collapsed on the ground, completely spent. The blood was dripping out of the corner of her mouth and from her nose._

_“NARVÍ.” The elf shouted and the sentinel in him saw red. The orcs holding him captive were dealt with shortly after with prejudice. Celebrimbor knelt beside Narví, taking care not to jostle her. She was badly injured._

_Narví was struggling for breath. With each beat of her heart, she was losing more and more blood. Her life was slowly trickling out. The dam had only one regret – that she was leaving her sentinel to mourn her passing and face the endless centuries all alone. “I’m sorry, Izgilê. I wish we had more time together.”_

_“Lukhdel. Please. Don’t leave me.” Celebrimbor pleaded with his guide. The idea of returning to live a life without her bright presence was unbearable._

_“I can’t. Forgive me.” The dwarf princess squeezed her sentinel’s hands and gifted him with one last smile. Then she released all of her power in the ground and floated away to the Mahal’s embrace._

_The elf lord felt the exact moment, their bond broke. He howled, his reason shattered in pain. His guide, his entire world, was dead. Glaring at the stirring orcs, he decided. They had to pay._

_Eirik snarled from his position next to Ylva. The she-wolf was lying helplessly on the ground beside her guide, whining in pain. The bond tying her to the dam snapped, and with it her strength to go on outside the psionic realm. Ylva whined one last lime, staring mournfully at her mate and faded out._

* * *

Gimli woke up with a scream, clutching her cloak for a dear life and panting heavily. The details from her dream slipped away, although she tried to hold on them, leaving her strangely bereft and alone. She had a feeling the dream was important to her. Just who was that dwarf guide with an elf sentinel? She’d never heard about such a thing.

“Gimli. Did something happen?” Her adad asked. The dam shuddered and wrapped herself in her travelling cloak, peering out at her travelling companions apprehensively. They were staring at her in concern. It was known she wasn’t prone to the nightmares. Gimli was considered the most level-headed dwarf of all of those foolish enough to sign up on Thorin’s quest to fight the dragon. She had to be hard and merciless against their enemies and fought viciously to protect herself. It was the only way. She refused to imagine what would happen to her if the orcs or human slavers found out she was a female dwarf. The disguise, she donned for the quest, was Thorin’s only requirement when he allowed her to join the Company against her father’s loud protests. 

Her father’s concern was the most vivid emotion of all of her fellow travellers. It was pressing on her uncomfortably. That was probably her own fault because she didn’t tell anyone she had awakened. It happened just after they left the Shire, with a protesting hobbit guide to their king’s sentinel in tow. She managed to gain control of her abilities fairly quickly, with her wolf’s help, and bury them as deeply as she could to avoid everyone noticing her new status. A guide of her strength and station would be coddled and constrained to the untold degree. She certainly wouldn’t be allowed to continue to aid Thorin in the attempt to get back their Mountain from the fire beast. Although she didn’t manage to fool everyone, judging by the looks Bilbo was shooting her when her control slipped even for a moment. The hobbit was gearing towards something, but she easily managed to avoid his attempts to catch her alone. She didn’t have time for a lecture, the hobbit was probably itching to give her. 

Gimli shook her head negatively. “It’s nothing, adad. Just a nightmare. Just a nightmare.” She repeated quietly to herself, avoiding to look at anything in particular. 

Other dwarrow and lone hobbit in their midst returned back to their sleep. Beorn’s cabin was warm and welcoming, a safe haven after their furious escape from the orc party following them. They needed to gather their strength. The next leg of their journey wasn’t going to be pleasant. Gandalf left them for some urgent wizard business with some vague instructions to wait for him at the Erebor’s secret entrance. 

Their path was going to lead them directly through Thranduil’s realm. Even from distance, the forest was dark and forbidding. Very unwelcoming to them, the dwarrow. According to Thorin’s tale of their escape from the burning Erebor, it was only a pair of elves that came to their rescue. Even then, they lost some of their people in the flight. That had left Thorin and his siblings as only surviving members of the displaced royal family.

The elves helped them through their forest and recommended them to find an unoccupied mountain in the West, as far from the dragon’s wrath as they could get. Thorin, then a very young dwarf prince, was allowed by the heads of other dwarf lines to set up a settlement in Ered Luin. It was perhaps for the best in those turbulent times. 

Glóin frowned, not quite believing what Gimli was trying to sell him. His daughter was hiding something from him. He wasn’t sure what it was but dearly hoped it was nothing serious. They couldn’t afford any distraction on the last leg of the quest. Not when they were going to be traipsing through that damned elf’s forest. “Try to get some more sleep, Gimli. Tomorrow will be a long day.” He said gruffly. 

“I’ll try,” Gimli murmured and closed her eyes tightly. But the sleep didn’t come. She shifted trying to find a more comfortable position, before giving up. The world around her shifted and she welcomed the presence of her spirit animal. Ylva shimmered in and settled near the exhausted dam. Gimli sank her fingers into the fur, trying to soak up the support from her wolf. 

Ylva was an ancient spirit animal. Every time she appeared to Gimli, the dam got an impression of immense age. Also, the dwarf was fairly certain Ylva knew something she wasn’t telling her. Sometimes, their bond felt like it was created aeons ago. Sometimes it was brittle, just on the edge of breaking. Not to mention, the dam felt like she was bonded to every guide they had met since her gifts inconveniently decided to flip on. And that was impossible since she didn’t meet her sentinel, yet. Or was it? Glaring little at Ylva, Gimli laid back on her roll and closed her eyes. She wouldn’t be sleeping again that night, but any moment spent strengthening her already formidable shields was a moment spent well. 

_Lukhdel._ The she-wolf huffed. The way the dam was acting was eerily familiar. That stubborn dwarf. _You didn’t tell them?_

The dam looked around warily. Everyone was back sleeping, so nobody was paying her any attention. Gimli whispered back. “They would have forbidden me to participate in the quest. And that was out of the question. Although…” She trailed off before continuing hesitantly. “I think Thorin suspects something.”

 _Ah. The dwarf king and sentinel. Where did I see that before?_ Ylva rolled eyes, ignoring the suspicious stare of her guide. 

_What do you mean?_ Gimli asked, giving up any pretence of sleep. 

_Nothing._ Ylva replied quickly and withdrew herself completely from the guide’s mind. Gimli was too damn intuitive to fool for long. Eirik was sure it was the sign they had waited for millennia. And she was getting the feeling he was right. 

_Why then, for Mahal’s sake, have you prodded me to awaken? What is so dangerous, that it was necessary._ Gimli flushed when she got a blast of incredulity from Ylva. _Right. Dragon._

 _Yes. We mustn’t forget the dragon._ Ylva commented dryly. _It’s the only reason why this entire ridiculous expedition was organized._

_The wizard had prodded Thorin to act. That you should know. I’ve complained several times about his involvement in what is essentially dwarrow business, but it fell on the deaf ears. And if not for Princess Dís I wouldn’t be even here. She persuaded Thorin to let me join. Originally, she was prepared to go, but then she realized it wasn’t possible. There just wasn’t anybody who would be able to look after the settlement. Not me, certainly. I don’t have the temperament and the patience to deal with the ridiculousness of the court. And less said about other dwarrow lords and their useless progenies, the better._

_Is Henryk still trying to foist his son on you?_ Ylva asked with laughter ringing in her voice.

Gimli scowled darkly. _I wouldn’t choose him as my mate if he was the last dwarf left on Arda. I would sooner proclaim an elf as my One._

 _If I was in your place, I would be choosing my words more carefully. You might get what you wish for, Lukhdel._ Ylva murmured. The dam hit the nail on its head and didn’t even know it. It was like she was remembering. The wolf spirit wasn’t sure how it would go over with her guide when she finally realized the truth. 

The dwarf guide was so similar to Narví, it was painful to be in her presence sometimes and feel the loss of her first guide. But at the same time, Gimli was also so different from the ancient dam. Narví was raised as a princess of Durin’s direct line, with all the privileges and responsibilities of her station in the court as the female cousin of the reborn Durin. Gimli, on the other hand, didn’t figure in the direct line of succession. There were a lot of heirs of the Durin line eligible to take the throne if something happened to Thorin, so it was deemed unnecessary for Gimli to receive a royal education. She was mostly left to pursue her own interests, constrained unfortunately by her life in the struggling settlement. Narví was allowed to pursue and develop her extraordinary talents in shaping the stone and she ended up in the position of a Guild Master. In these days, she was mostly known for her contribution to the making of the most notorious monuments of the Second Age – the West Gate of Khazad-dûm. It was a joint work of Narví and that elf husband of hers.

Ylva sighed. The scandal Narví and Celebrimbor caused by their unexpected bonding was a sight to see. They refused to bow down to the conventions and went their own way. Several following decades the elf Lord of Eregion and the dwarf princess of Khazad-dûm were the strongest bonded pair west of the Misty Mountains. But their story didn’t have a happy ending. 

The wolf shrugged her head and faded out completely from Gimli’s side, leaving the bewildered guide in her wake.

 _You’ve told her too much._ Eirik reprimanded her when he joined his mate in their den. 

Ylva shrugged. _There was nothing in the agreement with the Valar that prohibits me from speaking with Gimli._

_You’ve prodded her awake. That was a violation enough. We were lucky you weren’t punished for it._

_No. They didn’t punish me._ Ylva cuddled up to her mate and nosed the fur on his neck. _But they didn’t prevent the violation of your sentinel’s gifts. That father of his…_

_He won’t like it when he is called to the Blessed realms. He’ll be judged harshly for his interference. No matter what his motives were, it is unacceptable to suppress a sentinel in such a manner. Although… It seems the elf prince is regaining his old abilities. With his guide getting near, his instincts are quickly eroding the barriers forced on him._

_So, it’s only a matter of time._

_Yes. They are on the collision course. Do you remember what happened when Narví and Celebrimbor met for the first time?_

_Oh yes. Both of them were convinced, they were right. It was an interesting period in their lives. Narví had to learn when to bend and Celebrimbor had to start to believe in love again._

_It’s a pity it didn’t last. The world would be different if their fate wasn’t meddled with._

Ylva sighed. An Age ago _we didn’t know what to look for._

 _No. We didn’t._ Eirik conceded reluctantly before he snarled fiercely. _But we won’t be fooled again._

 _No, we won’t. That’s for certain._ Ylva agreed.


	3. Part 2

Gimli was feeling nauseous. Avarice and dark hunger were overwhelming. She tried to hide it from others but it was becoming harder and harder for her. The dark trees were hiding never-seen-before malevolence. The evil was festering in the forest and the elves didn’t seem to do anything about it. The dam was apprehensive to enter the woods and Bilbo agreed with her. It was hard for them to articulate their objections about entering the death-trap of a forest. However, it was the king’s prerogative to make a decision. And Thorin wanted to take the shortest way through Thranduil’s lands, and that would bring them uncomfortably near the palace. 

Why, for Mahal’s sake, did those pointy-eared menaces let the forest go in such a manner. It was terrible to stay there even for a moment and Gimli was suspicious most of the travellers never got out to the other side alive. 

They were inside that Yavanna forsaken patch of land for at least a week already. It was hard to tell because days blended together. The sunlight had a hard time penetrating the thick barrier made of leaves and something else, and Gimli was kind of afraid to investigate what exactly it was.

Bilbo was in a much worse state than her. The maliciousness, her fellow guide picked up with his abilities, was compounded with the fact the hobbits were very gifted with communing with nature, specifically with all of Yavanna’s creations. From what Gimli observed during their journey, the hobbits, or at least Bilbo, were able to coax the plants to give them advice on what path to choose and what to avoid. He was more often right than wrong. And it was Valar-sent. 

The dam didn’t like it whenever they stopped and built the camp. It gave Bilbo the opportunities to corner her for their little chat that was a long time coming. Gimli looked around carefully, not seeing anyone paying them undue attention before she decided enough was enough and joined the hobbit at the fire. 

“Bilbo? May I ask you a question?” Gimli started hesitantly and bit her lower lip nervously. The hobbit, they picked out in the Shire, was a fairly powerful guide. He had a different feel from a dwarf or even an elf guide, but maybe that was what Thorin needed. A warm little hobbit to soften the hard edges of his prickly personality.

The hobbit raised his head from his work curiously. “Of course, Gimli. What would you like to know?”

“Why don’t you fully bond with Thorin? I mean… You are strong enough to support him as a guide and I can tell you are compatible.” The dam burst out. Their reluctance to bond wasn’t making any sense to her.

Bilbo dusted off his clothes absentmindedly. “Thorin is… complicated dwarf. You should be quite aware of it.” Gimli shrugged noncommittally, avoiding a pointed comment, willy hobbit aimed at her. “He has a temper he finds difficult to control sometimes. A consequence of awakening almost a century ago during a traumatic event, I’m sure. And he lost any hope of finding his guide long before we’d finally met. I think he doesn’t know what to do with me.”

“When do you think you’ll seal the bond?”

“It depends on how our little quest to oust the dragon out of Erebor ends.” The hobbit admitted quietly. Thorin and I… We’ve formed a platonic bond without even trying. I’m quite aware it won’t be enough to be of any use for what we are attempting.”

“Ah.” Gimli flushed when she finally realized what the hobbit tried to tell her. She guessed it was very difficult to be near a compatible match and unable to do anything about it. Only her situation was probably worse – being an unbonded and having no idea when and where her sentinel was.

“Besides I think I’ll have my hands full with your training.” Bilbo winked at the dam. She was taken aback by his candour. “I hope you don’t think you’ve fooled Thorin and me. We’d noticed almost immediately. My hard-headed dwarf was of the opinion we should escort you back to the Shire and leave you under the protection of my kin.” Gimli blanched. That was her worst nightmare. Bilbo patted her hand in a reassuring manner before he continued. “While I don’t understand the dwarf desire to run headlong into danger, I’ve managed to convince Thorin otherwise. It was easy to find the arguments he couldn’t refute. All I had to do was to point out that if he could drag me, his guide, on the other side of Arda to face the dragon, he had to allow you to continue as you were. He agreed with the condition, you’ll be able to keep the secret. You know which one.”

“Yes, Bilbo,” Gimli replied demurely before she felt the strong presence of hobbit’s spirit animal in their vicinity. It was a little shy around Ylva, but she could catch a glimpse of it here and there. The dam cocked her head thoughtfully. How curious. She had a feeling it was ability specific to her. 

“She is beautiful.” The hobbit said, admiring Ylva. The wolf looked up, sensing they were talking about her and preened under their attention. Her guide’s regard was nice but the open admiration of the dwarf king’s guide was even better.

 _See… You don’t compliment me anymore._ Ylva murmured and butted her head against Gimli’s arm. _Pet me._ She ordered imperiously, like a true queen, and plopped down on the ground.

 _Let’s not advertise I’m able to talk to you, Ylva._ Gimli admonished her wolf but obligingly dug her fingers in the fur. _I heard it’s very rare. A sure sign of a strong sentinel or guide. The prevalent opinion is that the ability died off at the end of Second Age after the numbers of gifted in Arda declined rapidly._

 _Fine._ Ylva pouted and settled against her guide. 

“She is strong and fierce, you mean.” Gimli corrected her fellow guide gently, hoping the pause for her short conversation with Ylva went unnoticed.

“That too.” Bilbo nodded before he continued hesitantly. “In the Shire, it’s very rare to come across a predator spirit animal. Most hobbits lead simple lives, dedicated to Yavanna and their families, not venturing outside our lands. That’s true even for my fellow gifted. There is no need for such a strong spirit animal for my people.”

“So, yours had to be something special.” Gimli chimed in. She knew there had to be a reason the hobbit guide went along their quest. “A little bit shy, but also… A fox, Master Baggins? That’s a surprise. I would have guessed you for a badger.” Gimli exclaimed when a fox tumbled out of bushes.

Bilbo flushed and grabbed his fox by the back of her neck, admonishing her. “Nell, be more careful. Or you’ll break your neck.”

The fox yipped and nimbly slipped out of his hands and went to bother Ylva. The she-wolf was very patient with Nell and her antics. All of sudden, a big cat joined them. Clearly a sentinel’s companion. 

A supposition that proved Gimli correct when Thorin’s voice boomed beside them, startling both guides out of their wits. “I see you’ve finally managed to corner our hidden guide for an instruction.” 

“THORIN!” Bilbo glared at his sentinel. “We were trying to have a discreet discussion. You didn’t have to announce it to the half of the forest. ”

“Calm down, Bilbo. No one is around. I’ve checked. My nephews are nearest, about 15 minutes in that direction. They are a bit preoccupied with corralling out ponies to pay attention to our conversation. And others are too busy to laugh at their futile attempts.” Would-be-king of Erebor pointed negligently to the left. His tone took on the seriousness as he turned to address the dam. “Are you capable of continuing to the Erebor, Gimli? I know I promised my guide I wouldn’t pester you but I have an obligation to see to your safety in the place of your father, especially since you’ve forgotten to share the news with him.”

Gimli flushed at the rebuke coming from her cousin and king. “It wasn’t my intention to mislead my father. He is just too overprotective of me. He refused my request to join the quest out of hand, no matter I’m of age. 

“Barely,” Thorin muttered to his hobbit.

Gimli glared at him for the interruption and continued. “If not for Princess Dís I would be stuck in Ered Luin trying to dodge all of my suitors.”

Thorin smirked. “And that’s the worst thing for you to happen?”

“YES!” Gimli replied vehemently. “If… And only if I find my sentinel I may acquiesce to the bonding and marriage. But not a moment sooner. If I wasn’t a guide I would proclaim myself a craft-wed and be done with all of this nonsense.”

Bilbo smirked. The dam was very entertaining when she wanted to. It took his mind off the darkness seeping around the edges, trying to suffocate all of the life in the forest. It was hard to bear the burden of shielding the entire group from the undue influence. Well, almost everyone. Thorin and he had pretty strong shields going on. And Gimli was in a class of her own. Her mind was impenetrable. Bilbo suspected she was very strong. Likely stronger than him. He was curious about her sentinel because the dam felt like she was bonded. That was impossible, as Gimli came into her gifts soon after they left the Shire. She didn’t have a chance to meet anyone new. And she certainly wasn’t bonded to one of Thorin’s dwarrow. They would have noticed it otherwise. 

_Lukhdel._

Gimli stiffened. It didn’t mean anything good for her when Ylva started the conversation with her secret name. She made up some excuse to extricate herself from the conversation with the senior sentinel-guide pair and hastily vacated their presence. Ylva’s urgency was a beacon in her mind. 

_What was that, Ylva._ Gimli demanded to know as soon as she was sure they had some measure of privacy. Ylva promised she wouldn’t use that name. Only if there was an emergency that needed her undivided attention. Gimli couldn’t imagine what was so urgent for the wolf to use it now. Besides the stifling darkness, of course. It was exhausting work to be on the guard day in, day out, while simultaneously helping Bilbo to shield their travelling companions. 

Glaring at incoming Dwalin, the dam huffed. If he would only get over himself already and finally bond with his thief. It would be a relief. The sexual tension between them was very distracting. She couldn’t afford it right now. Also, it would ease a strain on her and Bilbo, if Nori would come out of his guide closet and join them in actively diverting the forest illness from affecting all of them. 

_Nothing._ The wolf sent a frown down their bond. The feeling vanished as abruptly as it appeared. _It’s just… Well, it’s hard to describe. It felt like something was trying to get hooks into you. No. Not the general darkness festering in these woods. But something more… dangerous._

 _More dangerous?_ Gimli frowned, echoing her wolf. Now that she was thinking about it, she remembered catching a glimmer of something flitting around her shields during her talk with Bilbo. The hobbit guide seemed to be unaware of it, so she dismissed the impression as unimportant. Perhaps, it was a mistake. _Ylva? What do you know?_

 _Nothing concrete._ Ylva admitted, taking a leap and landing beside the dam, leaving Bilbo’s fox and Thorin’s cat-beast to their antics.

Gimli narrowed her eyes at the recalcitrant wolf. Ylva wasn’t telling her everything but there wasn’t enough time to properly interrogate the wolf, with everything that was going on. 

The dam cocked her head aside, turning unerringly to the east, as an urgency captured her undivided attention. She could sense a glimmer of an enticing presence. _An unbonded sentinel._ Gimli realized. _Although that begs a question. What is an unbonded sentinel doing inside these Mahal-forsaken woods? He has to know it’s dangerous and still… He is here. And quite near. Ylva! Show me where to go._

Gimli straightened out when a flash of anticipation and bloodthirstiness emanated from a place further in the east. The wolf stood up, giving her a look that was clearly asking if she was sure. Gimli only nodded impatiently and quickly followed after her spirit animal, the complaints of the company falling on her deaf ears. The presence flared brightly once more before it dimmed to non-existence almost in the same instant. 

The dam quickened her steps. The irresistible force was pulling her towards the sentinel. She was afraid something happened to him. And it was a male… The general feel she had gotten from the impression was of a strong unbonded sentinel, whose presence was both – vivid and somewhat stifled. How that was possible was a question for another time. Gimli just wanted to find him. 

The urgency lessened somewhat and Gimli sighed with relief. The sentinel was all right. A bit agitated, but back from the almost feral state he worked himself in. His companions, and there were some other presences near him, she could discern now, were standing still, awed by something. Gimli slowed down. There wasn’t much of a point to hurry if the danger had already passed. 

“Gimli! Will you just stop?” Huffing and puffing Thorin finally managed to catch up to her. How the dam could move so quickly with all the armour disguising her was a mystery. Thorin squinted his eyes at his young cousin and suddenly he decided he didn’t want to know. The dam looked fresh and wasn’t even out of breath. It was infuriating. The rest of the company trickled in, barely catching their breath and glaring at Gimli for their enforced exercise.

Gimli turned around to give Thorin a piece of her mind for startling her while she was concentrating on finding the sentinel, when she stumbled over some inconveniently placed bush, falling through the greenery, right into an elf’s hands. 

She looked up and the recognition filled her with warmth.

_I know you…_

_Izgilê._


	4. Part 3

Legolas stopped suddenly and cocked his head, curiosity painted on his face. His patrol was used to their leader’s strange behaviour. But today it was a bit different. The sentinel caught soft whispers coming from the west part of the forest, relatively close to their current position. Rumbling tones were strangely familiar and calming to him. Straining his senses further than usual, he tried to catch the details about the unexpected guests deep inside the forest. It was odd they had come so far without detection.

Then the conversion between what he guessed were two guides, one of them quite new to his gifts, became very interesting. Legolas straightened out his posture and took a step towards the group he was unashamedly spying on. 

What dwarrow were doing in the forest was the question, now. They left the vicinity of Erebor more than five decades ago after they lost their mountain to the fire-breathing dragon. Last he heard they settled somewhere in Ered Luin. They were led there by a young dwarf prince, who decided to spit on their hospitality and left with all of his people in tow. They heard only rumours after that, as no dwarf of Erebor deigned to visit their lands. It was probably for the best. The dragon holed himself in the dwarf city and except for the occasional smokes and rumbles, he wasn’t seen for as long. 

It didn’t bode well for the dwarrow to return back now when the situation between the people of Esgaroth and elves was becoming more and more strained. The humans were stubborn and expected elves to aid them if anything went awry with the dragon. After Smaug retreated into the underground city, they returned and re-built. Their new town was located directly on the lake. Legolas couldn’t fathom what drove them to do so. Alas, the decision of living in the beast’s vicinity had consequences as the human gifted were awakening in far larger numbers, compared to the elves. 

Legolas was the first elf to awaken in almost an Age, causing a cascade of awakenings in Mirkwood. But he wasn’t counted amongst the strongest. That distinction belonged to his friend Tauriel. The captain of the guard was uniquely gifted and his father gave her the responsibility of protecting the borders. After few of his acquaintances became sentinels and guides and subsequently bonded, he was left standing in the dust. And the less was said about his father’s reaction to his awakening, the better. 

It was very strange how every gifted found their partner in a little time, and after the decades Legolas was still alone. He learnt to cope with his gifts, as meagre as they were, on his own, and slowly lost interest in finding his guide. Curiously, Tauriel was in the same situation. She had more problems adjusting at first, but as time went and her guide didn’t appear, she learnt as well to manage everything on her own. It was hard sometimes. The urge to leave his father’s lands worsened in the last sixty or so years. He got quite adept at ignoring it, preferring to pretend the empty guide-shaped place in his soul didn’t exist. 

What he envied Tauriel the most was her connection to her spirit animal – some kind of big and sleek black cat-like creature. After that first time, he was unable to make the connection to his wolf again. It left him feeling like he was missing a part of himself. Sometimes, he could sense the wolf’s presence, but Eirik never appeared again. Perhaps, his weak gifts were at fault. No matter. He would endure.

It wasn’t much worse than suffering his father’s silence when he refused to obey and enlisted to the guard. His siblings teased him mercilessly because of it, and it left him fed up with all of their antics and underhanded court manoeuvrings. It was almost a relief to get out of the palace on the patrols. He begged Tauriel to station him as far as she could. The captain took one look at him and agreed. 

With a swish of his sword, he beheaded a spider sneaking up on him and glared at his subordinates, scolding them silently for their inattention. Within the next moment, the patrol was surrounded from all sides by a veritable army of that eight-legged foul beasts. Legolas sheathed his sword and took out his bow and arrows. The sentinel let go of the control he carefully maintained over his gifts. His focus sharpened. In quick succession, he took out three largest spiders with his favourite weapon. 

Legolas frowned, taking in the situation. They were vastly outnumbered by the pests. The spiders got smart. Their numbers had to climb up quickly for them to start hunting in packs. It was a very worrying development. One he hated, as it compromised his ability to protect their lands.

The eight-legged monsters were gaining on them quickly. They had to have some form of rudimentary intelligence and speech, so they were able to somewhat coordinate their attack. Legolas dodged a swipe, got behind another spider, and used his bow to strangle it. His fellow elves were having a difficult time dealing with pests. Legolas was now regretting his choice to build his unit out of non-gifted.

Legolas discarded his bow and unsheathed his sword again. The spiders managed to breach their defences and got too close to use his favourite weapon effectively. He cut out the legs from another spider when he heard Aranel cry out in pain. It lightened up something inside him. He snarled ferally and made quick work out of the remaining spiders. His subordinates were staring at him with their mouths open, weapons dangling uselessly in their hands. It didn’t happen often; that he was so immersed in his instincts to the detriment of everything else. Legolas swiped the black blood from his cheek and motioned to Aranel. “Get her help.”

The sentinel swiped the trees with his senses and didn’t detect any more danger. Legolas relaxed his stance but stayed alert. He took a notice of a rather large group of… people? to rapidly approach their position. The elf prince gestured to his subordinates to be on their guard. He wasn’t worried about the travellers but what was following them.

Legolas cringed. The dwarrow wasn’t even trying to hide their approach. In their hasty pace, they didn’t notice that they entered the part of a forest infested with the spiders. And that another pack of the eight-legged beasts was pursuing them. Not good. His patrol was already exhausted by their earlier fight and the casualties they had suffered.

A red-head dwarf… _a dam_ … his mind insisted, fell through the greenery right into his arms. She looked up and his heart stopped beating for a moment. An image interposed briefly over her features, and Legolas tightened his hold on her, as a bolt of want hit him all of sudden. The female dwarf was beautiful. And a guide.

Legolas helped her to regain her balance and reluctantly let go of her. She brushed her clothes and imperiously surveyed her surroundings, her gaze repeatedly drawn back to him. It was adorable how attracted to him she seemed to be. Legolas opened his mouth to ask her name when he winced. 

Other dwarrow decided they weren’t going to wait for the dam to try and extricate herself from the situation she literally stumbled in, and with a loud shout they crashed in. The startled patrol raised their weapons threateningly, still a bit on the edge from the earlier ambush.

The dwarf guide pinched her nose in irritation and turned on her ”rescuers”. “Could you, perhaps, not announce your arrival to the entirety of the forest?” Caching a sight of a leisurely walking hobbit, she addressed him. “Bilbo, couldn’t you sit on them or what. I wasn’t in any danger from the elves.” Pointing a finger at unfairly attractive elf sentinel, she continued. “He did even save me from crashing headfirst into the ground.”

Legolas barked out a burst of startled laughter. The female was entertaining, while she took her comrades to the task. She was very courageous, or stupid, depending on how you looked at it when she dared to lecture a fairly imposing dwarf sentinel. Startled Legolas recognized him for a traumatized young princeling that came into his gifts far too soon in the wake of the dragon’s attack. 

He inclined his head regally to the fellow royal. “Prince Thorin and companions. Welcome.”

Thorin cringed when he heard his name falling from the elf’s lips. So much for secrecy. He sized the ef up. It was much worse than he thought. It was that elf sentinel. The one he owed for ensuring the safety of his people when he covered their retreat from Erebor. Entirely wrong-footed at finding himself face-to-face with a piece of his past he dearly hoped to forget, Thorin fell back on his half-forgotten manners and inclined his head. “Prince Legolas.”

Before they could continue with meaningless pleasantries, the elf sentinel stiffened at the same time as the dwarf. It was eerie how both sentinels turned their heads in the same direction, swiftly withdrawing their weapons. Without any verbal instruction, everyone went on alert and armed themselves.

“What the hell is this?” Gasped out Gimli as she ducked nimbly under large spider’s pinchers. A monster straight out of the nightmares. She cut off two of its legs in one swift swipe of her favourite axe and as soon as it was on the ground she finished disposing of it.

“Just some uninvited guests setting up their shop in our lands. It’s one of my duties to get rid of them.” Legolas bantered back, stabbing another spider in the eyes. 

“Uninvited guests? Really?” Gimli huffed laughter out. She couldn’t resist posing her next question. “And what would you call a dragon nesting in Erebor.”

“Odious neighbour?” Legolas hazarded and took out another pest trying to take a bite from the dam. 

“Do I have to make a habit of saving you?” Slightly out-of-breath Legolas asked the still-unnamed dam.

She scowled darkly. “I assure you I’m not normally this much trouble. And I would have taken care of that spider a moment later if you didn’t interfere.”

“A moment later it would have bitten and poisoned you.” Legolas refuted her boast. The infuriating female was starting to try his patience. While they spoke, the rest of the spiders were killed off by joined efforts of elf patrol and Thorin’s dwarrow. The danger had passed, for now, and his instincts settled back. 

Gimli flushed. “I had everything in hand, Master elf.” She wilted under his glare before she conceded a defeat. She was too tired to try and out-argue the elf.

Legolas sighed and steadied the guide. He sensed her general exhaustion and a bleeding injury. Nothing serious but it would have to be looked over by a healer. The spiders were notorious for poisoning their victims. Taking care to assess everyone’s health, the elf prince made a decision. “Let’s get you to the palace for medical assistance.” The elf suggested.

With half of his company down, injured or otherwise, and not seeing another way out of their predicament Thorin nodded and fell in step with the elf prince and Gimli, bringing Bilbo with him. Just in case there was a need for diplomacy.

 _That went well,_ Ylva commented while she was spying at the retreating elves and dwarrow.

 _You would think so._ Eirik grumbled, irritated with his inability to come to his sentinel’s aid. Now, that their charges had finally met, he sensed some of the restrictions to loosen up. 

Ylva butted her head against his foreleg. _Be patient. I’m sure you’ll be free to pester Legolas in a short amount of time. They’ve made a connection. No matter how weak, but it’s there. They don’t know it yet, but they are on their way to forge the bond stronger than before. It will be hard for anyone to come between them. You remember how it was with Narví and Celebrimbor._

 _I remember._ Eirik huffed and turned up his nose. _And that’s exactly the problem. I don’t like Legolas bringing them into the palace. That elf king is infuriating in his desire to control his youngest offspring. I don’t know how his corruption went unnoticed for so long._

 _Don’t worry. I’m sure Gimli will take care of that._ Ylva reassured her mate and nudged him encouragingly.


	5. Part 4

_“Izgilê.” The dam sighed and pulled her lover towards the bed. They were kissing passionately, barely coming up for air, trying to quickly lose as many pieces of clothing as possible. With one harsh tug and the dam’s hair spilled down her back in thick black waves. She moaned and sank her nails into his shoulders. She ground her pussy against his erection, trying to work him up to lose the last dregs of his restraint. Two weeks apart were too long. They needed to reaffirm their bond and that was the most expeditious way._

_Blushing wildly, Gimli tried to look away to give them some measure of privacy with no avail. She was rooted in the spot, her attention riveted by the spectacle taking place right in front of her. Wide-eyed Gimli watched, as the elf gripped the female’s hips and thrust inside her._

_The female keened high-pitching, blue energy sparkling on her skin. Two naked bodies fell on the bed, tangled together. Nothing else existed at that moment, just their eager touches, scorching kisses and love shining in their eyes. The elf then did something else and the female cried out in bliss._

_The thrusts, bodies writhing on the bed, it was too much. Within the next moment, the elf slumped beside his dwarf lover, taking care not to crush her. The dam rolled over with him and made herself comfortable – laying her head on his chest listening to his wildly beating heart. As if sensing an unknown presence, the female looked up._

_And Gimli saw her own intense blue eyes set in her own, albeit a bit older, the face staring back at her, measuring her worth. It was disconcerting._

_The debauched female smirked. She unashamedly climbed out of the bed, the satisfaction oozing from her in almost palpable waves, and stood up in front of her counterpart._

_“We are the same,” Gimli whispered, trying to wrap her head around the knowledge she possessed now._

_The dam only nodded. The naked elf, with an eerily familiar face, joined her, taking his lover in his arms. Gimli couldn’t help herself and slowly trailed her gaze across his body. She flushed when she caught sight of a smirk playing on his lips._

_“I’ve never heard about a dwarf-elf couple. Just who are you?” Gimli demanded to know trying to stay on the matter at hand and not get distracted by pretty elf._

_The dam cocked her eyebrow mockingly and replied. “Narví.”_

_And thousands of vivid memories crashed inside Gimli’s unprepared mind._

* * *

Gimli was staring blankly at the dark trees surrounding them. The elf sentinel Legolas, Izgilê according to the memories she possessed now, told them they were a few hours away from the palace. It was mortifying to Gimli when she woke up and realized she unwittingly projected her feelings on everyone during the previous night. Such lapse of control was unforgivable. Only the gifted amongst them guessed, quite correctly she was afraid, what happened and eyed her with various degrees of amusement. All of the knowing smirks aimed at her were making her homicidal. At least her adad still didn’t have a clue about her. Thank Mahal for that.

Just this morning when she was more than half-asleep, the dam weaved new braids into her hair, to the shock and horror of her fellow dwarrow – it was too intimate to see a dam making up her hair. Her father turned red with anger, ready to shout at anyone, be it elf or dwarf, paying her undue attention. Gimli ignored him and finished her betrothal braids. She was probably greatly resembling the ancient dam at the present but there wasn’t anyone alive to compare them. Fortunately for her, all of Narví’s portraits were destroyed after her death. It probably had something to do with craftswoman’s choice of husband. Durin was amused by their hasty actions but he gave them his blessing. After he threatened Celebrimbor, of course. To this day it remained one of the most hilarious sights she had ever seen. 

The dam was still trying to process everything the dream/vision/memory revealed. Narví. One of the greatest of dwarrow craftsmen. And an elf. Stealing a glance at Legolas, she flushed, as a flutter of attraction stirred inside her. Gimli shook her head and sighed heavily. No. Now wasn’t a time to dwell upon the impossible. She remembered, and he didn’t.

There was a precedent for similar circumstances as hers in dwarf history. Just look at Durin. From what Gimli could remember of Narví’s life as his cousin at the beginning of the Second Age, Durin’s beginnings in his second life differed from hers. He remembered who he was from early childhood and it showed. He refused to bow to the political manoeuvring of his advisors and he had never married. Well, not officially. He met his guide late in life, long after he provided an heir for his kingdom, using his gift as Mahal’s firstborn son. They bonded but those old windbags never accepted such, in their opinion poor, match for their king. 

Gimli pitied the ancient king for it. However, it didn’t solve her own troubles. The dam was on the verge of a meltdown. The newly awakened memories swirling in her mind were very hard to ignore. They were too distracting, and her adad tried several times to approach her about what was causing her to space out in such a dangerous environment. Gimli couldn’t tell him she was Narví reborn and that she had a difficult time sorting the mess her mind turned into on the account of acquiring a startling amount of ancient dam’s memories. Her best bet was to keep her mouth shut until she had time and privacy to sort out everything. Also, Ylva was going to get a piece of her mind as soon as she deigned to appear. The wolf was her spirit animal in both of her lives. It bothered Gimli, she didn’t think to warn her. 

Thank Mahal, at least her shields held for the most part. Taking another stealthy look at the elf prince, she reddened. He was observing her with a knowing smirk on his lips. The dam clapped down on her shaky shields and refused to look at him for the rest of the journey.

The dam frowned. Izgilê. Her elf. Oh, how she had missed him for all of her life. However, it didn’t help her in the slightest with her worries. Legolas was already alive for centuries no doubt walking around with a hole in his heart, and not knowing what it meant exactly. That it wasn’t only a sentinel’s longing for his guide, but also a husband missing his wife. His One. 

_Don’t give up on him, Lukhdel._ A wolf’s voice interrupted a stream of doubts growing in the turmoil of her mind. He failed to materialise fully but Gimli could still make out a blue and shadowy image half-hidden between the trees. 

_Eirik?_ Gimli asked, uncertainty colouring her voice. Narví didn’t interact with her sentinel’s spirit animal often but the wolf’s presence was resonating with her elf’s soul. 

_Don’t you dare to give up on him!_ Ylva joined in when she appeared beside the dam and nudged her hand to get Gimli to pet her. Her experience told her a bit of petting would be enough to soothe the dwarf guide. It had always worked on Narví and Gimli wasn’t as different from the craftswoman as she would like to think. Judging from the frown the dam was sporting, that little bit of knowledge was going to be needed in the near future. Then there was another thing to consider – when the dam would finally work through all of her memories from her previous life, it would make her face the things she wasn’t ready to see, yet. Like her death, for example. Ylva shuddered. That was one memory she didn’t wish for Gimli to relieve. 

_What if he doesn’t remember._ Gimli asked, hating the needy tone of her voice. She longed for the bond like Narví and her sentinel shared all those centuries ago. The spark between Legolas and herself, the compatibility she’d detected, was there. Just held back by something. Gimli frowned and studied elf’s presence more deeply. It was like some parts of his gifts were sealed deeply inside him. It was all tangled up. She would need a more in-depth look at him but… There was something wrong with him. He wasn’t what he should be. It was like someone tried to smother his gifts but was unable to succeed completely. 

It didn’t fill her with warm and fuzzy feelings about their rapidly approaching visit to Thranduil’s palace. The dark scowl on Thorin’s face and Bilbo’s apparent apprehension were also quite large indications the things were about to go to hell.

“Seize them.” An imperious voice ordered and subsequently proved her right. 

Gimli refused to fight her captors. She was conscious of the unbounded elf sentinel and didn’t want to trigger a feral episode if someone managed to hurt her. The elves sensed there was something more to her and they treated her with a gentleness she didn’t expect from them. Gimli peacefully gave up most of her weapons. Her apparent cooperation with their demands allowed her to secret several throwing knives and her favourite dagger in her clothes. Their behaviour was probably partly influenced by their prince’s glares as he took a stand before the dwarrow and exclaimed loudly for everyone to hear. “No, ada. These dwarrow are our guests. They’ve come to seek shelter and medical attention. You can’t strip them of their rights willy-nilly. I won’t stand for it.”

The king took in the stubbornness on his son’s features and asked silkily. “And why should I listen to you, Legolas. You gave up the rights of your rank when you ran away to play a soldier. Your word means nothing in these halls.” 

“And your hospitality leaves a lot to be desired,” Thorin observed dryly, drawing the elf king’s ire to him. “It’s everything I knew I could expect from you.”

“Durin’s seed.” The king spat poisonously. “I thought I’ve managed to get rid of the blight of your line on these lands.”

“Seize them,” Thranduil uncompromisingly ordered again. This time the guards didn’t hesitate and ignored Legolas’s protests. 

Gimli turned her body a bit to shield Bilbo’s retreat. She noticed he ducked into a dark alcove near them when nobody was paying attention to him. In the next moment, the hobbit vanished into thin air right before her eyes. A wave of malice reached up for her, grabbing at her strained shields, and tried to find a weak spot. Gimli repelled the attack, heaved and threw up on the king’s shoes to everyone’s shock. Of all embarrassing acts she ever did to this date, this took the cake. But the dam didn’t have to worry about the consequences of her actions as she promptly fell unconscious.


	6. Part 5

Gimli rolled over and snuggled into bedding, trying to fall asleep again. The bed was ridiculously comfortable compared to the hard ground she had to endure since the quest started. Nice mattress, fluffy pillows and a warm blanket. It was a haven. She refused to open her eyes and face the real world. This dream was nice. And she wanted it to continue.

 _Wake up, Lukhdel._ Ylva’s voice rang in her mind insistently. 

_Nooo. Let me sleep._ Gimli whined and tried to drown the noise her wolf was making. She put a pillow over her head, ignoring the spirit animal. She had a hard day and wanted to relax before she was forced to confront her current situation.

Ylva growled and pulled the pillow down from dam’s head. _Get up. We don’t have much time. We have a lot of things to discuss._

Gimli glared at the wolf and pouted. _Do I not deserve a bit of rest before I’ll have to think up a way to get us out of here. Preferably with all of our weapons and some supplies._ Thinking back at the map of Arda that was drilled into her mind, Gimli tapped her lip thoughtfully. _We aren’t that far away from Erebor. I didn’t hear anything about a plan on how to deal with the dragon. I mean… Sending a hobbit guide inside doesn’t make any sense. It’s counterproductive. Every sentinel, unbonded or not, will be tracking his progress and just a whiff of danger around Bilbo and they will be compelled to go after him. Not something we want, when we depend on the stealth to get one over the dragon._

 _Right._ Ylva laid her head in the dam’s lap, making herself comfortable. _The king still didn’t say what he plans?_

 _No._ Gimli replied shortly. _I’m thinking, and most dwarrow probably agree, all of Thorin’s plans went down the drain as soon as he made the connection to his guide. That makes the second possibility more and more likely. We’ll be playing pest control._

The wolf sighed. The dragon-killing was serious business. When ancient sentinels went after dragons, there was always a lot of planning involved. And no sentinel dared to go fighting alone. They were organised in perfectly synchronised units, with support guides at their backs. But that ancient wisdom vanished with last known dragons. Ylva wasn’t giving a lot of chances to the disorganised group of mostly unbonded or latent gifted. She wasn’t sure she wanted Gimli there if anything went wrong. And there was still a matter of Gimli’s elf sentinel. 

_Also, Ylva. Didn’t you forget to tell me something?_ Gimli asked, veering away from the topic of the dragon to the immediate issues that concerned her.

 _And what it should be, Lukhdel?_ The she-wolf tried to pull on an innocent face.

 _That doesn’t work on me._ Gimli admonished her, before speaking up the ancient name. _Narví._

 _Ah._ The wolf lowered her ears and looked away. Narví was a touchy subject. Ylva was still hurting after the dam’s unexpected death caused by that foul, evil monster. Eirik and she sensed familiar darkness stirring in the world. They feared that was the reason why the Valars allowed Celebrimbor and Narví to be reborn on Arda. 

_Ah?_ Gimli repeated incredulously. _That’s all you are going to tell me? Did you mislead me on purpose?_

 _No._ Ylva protested sharply. _Don’t ever think it, Lukhdel._ Then she admitted. _There are a lot of other things in motion, I’m not allowed to reveal to you. It is bad enough I had to hasten the awakening of your gifts when those trolls had almost succeeded in killing you. I… I refused to see you die on me again. Once was bad enough. I don’t regret my actions and I hope you aren’t holding it against me._

 _I don’t. But Ylva… Was it really necessary?_ _Thorin and Bilbo, even that blasted wizard had everything in hand._

 _Yes, hundreds times yes, it was. The trolls were an immediate concern, and the situation was precarious enough to warrant my direct intervention._ The wolf answered promptly. _And obviously, I couldn’t take a chance on you coming across your sentinel, still latent and unaware of your connection to him. Besides, if being reborn for a few times was good enough for Durin, then why not for my guide?_

 _Speaking about my sentinel… Izgilê. What about him? Why does his presence feel so weak? If he is my sentinel… If he is really Celebrimbor reborn, he should be much stronger. And why doesn’t he remember?_ The barrage of questions hit the wolf. Ylva tried to wriggle out of giving an answer. It would only hurt her guide to know the truth. _Tell me._ Gimli asked forcefully, lacing her words with intent.

Ylva struggled briefly, before admitting defeat. Her charge grew strong in a relatively short time. Such a direct request from her was very hard to resist. _His gifts were suppressed almost as soon as they manifested. If that didn’t happen, he would have remembered everything a long time ago._

Looking around the room apprehensively, Gimli asked directly. _So, is it a Longbread’s thing, getting bonded to an elf sentinel?_

_You didn’t have any complaints before._ Ylva smirked, getting the last word and faded out of the sight before the dam could gather her wits and continue with the interrogation.

“That wolf. I’m going to do something unpleasant to her one day.” Gimli murmured under her breath, as she slipped out of bed looking for her clothes. That white gown some elf forced on her had to go. It wasn’t the worst thing to wear, but it wasn’t conducive to her plans to find others and get out of the palace.

“I dearly hope you are not speaking about me.” Legolas swung by her and plopped on the free chair beside the small table. The dam just raised her eyebrow at the sentinel. “I’ve knocked. Several times, but you were intent on conversing with a pretty wolf, your spirit animal, I assume.” He quickly explained.

“Ylva. She is withholding answers to my questions right now. It’s important she reveals what she knows, and she still refuses to share. It’s aggravating.” Legolas wisely decided to just nod in agreement of the dam’s complaints. The experience taught him it was better to agree with an incensed female lest her anger would turn against him. The dam eyed him suspiciously before returning to her rant. “And you! Tell me, why am I imprisoned in this room. And don’t dare to tell me I’m not a prisoner. Well? I’m waiting.”

The sentinel was blunt about her assertions. “You are the king’s guests. For an undetermined amount of time.”

“In short, we are your prisoners.” The dam surmised and sat on the other chair feigning indolence. The elf prince was unfairly attractive. Celebrimbor’s more refined features superimposed his face. Suddenly, Gimli could see why Narví was willing to bond herself to a sentinel of another race. 

“Perhaps. It depends on several things. And I sincerely hope you and your companions aren’t trying to accomplish what I think you do.”

“And what it would be?” The dam was curious about what conclusion the elf gleaned from their brief meeting.

“Erebor.”

“Ah.” The dam nodded. “Yes, our lost kingdom.”

Legolas recoiled. “Really? Are you all out of your minds? Erebor? The dragon’s nest?”

“And what of it. Even if we are going to Erebor, what does it have to do with you? I tell you what… Nothing.” Gimli replied sharply, refusing to concede a point. And while she might have thought it was foolishness to try, she wasn’t going to admit it to the elf. No matter how pretty he looked, relaxing in that chair. Legolas squirmed under the dam’s sharp gaze. “Are you hiding something?”

“Nothing serious.” He shot back, waiting for the dwarf guide’s next step. 

“I have to get out of here.” Gimli mused aloud, dismissing the sentinel’s presence as inconsequential. He wouldn’t be able to prevent her from acting as soon as she formulated some kind of plan.

“It won’t be that easy. You’ll have to get around the guards and patrols designed to keep you here. And then there is a matter of dragon. May I ask – whose bright idea was it to go and attempt to disturb the dragon dwelling in the Erebor?”

Gimli rolled her eyes and decided to spill the beans. It wasn’t like she owed anything to the grey menace that got them in this mess. “Gandalf, of course. It was his idea. And you know how he is. If he gets something in his head, you’ll have to prepare yourself to go along the ride, no matter your own misgivings about the whole venture at any given time.”

“Mithrandir?” Legolas’s hackles rose up. He didn’t like the wizard. He never did. The ancient Maia had always looked at him half-pityingly, half-suspiciously, mostly suspiciously, and he couldn’t think of a reason why. Although, the eerie attention the Maia paid him waned in recent centuries. Legolas finally had an answer to why that happened. “And where is that old meddler? I didn’t notice his presence lingering around you.”

Gimli frowned. “I don’t have a clue. I only know one evening he was there, eating dinner at Beorn’s, making cryptic remarks and obviously trying to stick his long nose where it didn’t belong and the next morning he wasn’t there. I think Thorin might know something about his whereabouts if you are really that curious about it.”

“No, thank you. I’d rather avoid him.”

“Which him do you mean. Thorin or the wizard?”

“Both of them, really,” Legolas answered earnestly. “The wizard is self-explanatory. And your king is in a foul mood since he was thrown in the dungeons with most of your entourage. You are lucky you are an online guide. Otherwise, you would have ended up in the cell, right beside your friends.”

“That would do it for Thorin.” Gimli nodded sagely, her shields relaxing the longer she was in the presence of her sentinel. It was galling he couldn’t sense her in return. Her mind was primed to bond, but his wasn’t. It was like there was a thick glass between them. You could see, but not touch. _When I find out who was cruel enough to constrain alpha sentinel’s gifts in such way, I’m going to give that person more than a piece of my mind. I’ll make an example of them._

A hand moved in front of her face. “Hey, are you alright?”

Gimli waved his concern away, more interested in studying sentinel’s aura. The damage seemed to be long-term, and she hoped it was reversible. She looked closer and noticed there were several cracks in the barrier binding elf’s gifts. Suddenly, something twisted and attacked her. Gimli narrowly called back her power, before it backfired and she ended up unconscious once again in several hours. 

“What was that?” Legolas murmured, eyes closed, feeling a warmth seeping inside him steadily before it was suddenly cut off and forced back. He longed for it.

Gimli bit her lip. It was a risk to reveal anything to Legolas. But… What if… “That was you – a sentinel feeling a compatible guide.” Gimli decided to tell a partial truth. Using Narví’s ancient knowledge, she kept her heart steady and scent unchanging, in an effort not to tip off the sentinel, she wasn’t telling him everything. 

Legolas’s eyebrow climbed in perfect imitation of Lord Elrond’s signature move to show the dam he wasn’t impressed with her curt answer. “I don’t have a guide.”

“Mahal, save me from the hard-headed males.” Gimli rolled her eyes at the prince’s denial. Was that a divine retribution for her reluctance to bond in her life as Narví? “Of course, you have a compatible guide, Legolas. Every sentinel has one. You are no exception. You’ve just had to wait a bit longer to find yours.”

Things fell in place in the sentinel’s mind. “You?”

The dam’s reply turned Legolas’s entire world on its head. “Yes. Me.”


	7. Part 6

“That was very informative,” Bilbo said, as soon as the shell-shocked sentinel was out of the hearing range.

“Bilbo.” The dam inclined her head. She was starting to recognize the particular feeling of his presence when he was invisible. It was distorted by some kind of special device, making it hard to pinpoint his location. It seemed the sentinels were completely blinded when the hobbit wore it. Not her, but that was a different cup of tea.

Gimli spied the fellow guide putting something in his pocket. Probably, the trinket that caused that invisibility effect. The greed and malice radiating from it was horrible. Gimli couldn’t fathom how Bilbo wasn’t put off by it. Maybe it was some kind of special hobbit ability to shrug off the evil. It didn’t seem to be affecting him adversely. Not like her. It was like the trinket was targeting her specifically. Fortunately, Gimli was able to shield herself this time to avoid falling unconscious when the hobbit ceased to use it. The inherent sentience contained in the trinket was making her very concerned. Maybe, she should be having words with Bilbo about it.

“Gimli. Are you all right? You were unconscious for most of the day.” Bilbo asked, hands playing nervously with a hem of his shirt. The dam wasn’t prone to hysterics. And she wasn’t grievously injured, so it was very concerning when she fainted.

“It was only momentary dizziness caused by coming down from the state of constant alert. And it seems the king’s presence didn’t agree with me.” Gimli curtly dismissed hobbit’s concern.

Bilbo had to stifle a laugh at that. The dam put it aptly. “I agree. He is insufferable to be around. I was sure Thorin was going to punch him in his arrogant face if he said one more insulting word.”

“Speaking of your vanishing skills, I have a question. Just what is causing you to disappear and appear at will. Did you consult the wizard about it?”

Bilbo shifted uneasily, patting his pocket as if to check if the invisibility device was still there and spilt the beans. “I wanted to. But Gandalf disappeared into the wind before I was able to catch him alone. Besides, I figure if something bad was meant to happen when I was using it, it would’ve happened by now. It’s a bit uncomfortable, when I put it on, as it interferes with my bond with Thorin. So, I don’t use it often.”

Gimli glared at the hobbit’s pocket. It was dangerous. That thing Bilbo was hiding. She was sure of it. When it made its presence known, it was like salt in an open wound. The dam decided to let the matter lie for now. They had more serious problems than dealing with Bilbo’s secret. “Do you know where Thorin and others are? Legolas said they were thrown into dungeons.”

Bilbo nodded, eager to change the topic of their discussion. “I missed them when they were led away, as I was stuck in my hiding place. I followed after the guards a bit later when they brought them an evening meal. The elf prince was right with his earlier assessment. Thorin wasn’t in the best mood when I finally found them. I had to remain constantly hidden, as there was an on-spot inspection by the captain of the guard. For some reason, she left in a huff.”

Gimli grabbed her clothes and went to the adjoining room, thinking up and discarding plans in quick succession. “Look out for the guards.” The dam said over her shoulder to the flushed hobbit when he gathered she was about to change clothes.

“Right. I can do that.” Bilbo replied and he turned his back for a good measure, to give the dam at least a bit of privacy.

“Do you think you’ll be able to get Thorin and others out of dungeons without attracting the attention of every elf in this blasted place?” Gimli peeked out of the door and asked.

“Perhaps.” Bilbo nodded. “It depends on how attentive the guards are. I think I should look for the best route out of the palace while taking into consideration the dwarrow penchant for making noise and mess.”

“Actually, I think that’s a great idea,” Gimli said and entered the room, with the gown hanging on her arm. Unfortunately, her clothes weren’t disguising much of her figure, making it clear to everyone she was a female. She missed her armour and the anonymity it provided.

“Letting you out of the palace looking like this is very dangerous,” Bilbo commented and waved his hand, an adorable blush painted on his cheeks. He knew Gimli was a female since she abruptly awakened in the confrontation with trolls. However, he didn’t realize she was that beautiful. The armour disguised much. Gloín’s fierce protectiveness was suddenly making a lot of sense.

Gimli looked down and grimaced. “We have to work with the cards we were dealt with. Our circumstances aren’t the best, but I think….”

A knock on the door interrupted the dam. She winced when Bilbo quickly slipped a ring on his finger and disappeared into thin air. She took a moment to gather her composure and called out. “Enter.”

One of the elves that were included in the welcoming committee stood outside her room, mouth hanging open and staring at her in shock. Gimli raised her eyebrow challengingly and asked sharply. “Haven’t you ever seen a female dwarf?”

The unnamed elf shook his head mutely, indicating a negative answer to her inquiry.

The dam rolled her eyes and tried to help him out. “Do you need anything from me?”

The poor guard finally found his tongue and stammered out. “My king is expecting you in the audience room.”

Gimli nodded regally, pointedly ignoring the guard’s stares. “Lead the way.”

* * *

The elf left her standing in the middle of a spacious room. It was rather empty in Gimli’s opinion. She was probably spoiled by the homey feeling of their little settlement in Ered Luin and warmth of Bilbo’s home. Even Beorn had more knick-knacks in his house than this. And Imladris… The grandness of that place defied the description. This audience hall had a starkly cold feel, clearly mirroring the king’s disposition.

The aforementioned ruler was sprawling leisurely on his throne, staring at her in something akin to great dislike. That was strange, because as a rule guides were well-liked. With a few exceptions, that often ended up as a threat to them. Gimli’s instincts went on alert. She held her chin up stubbornly, staring into elf’s cold, empty eyes, not flinching at the intense gaze boring in her, trying to make her uncomfortable. Not the best starting point of the interrogation.

“You have a look of Durin’s blood about you.” The king pointed out idly, taking Gimli off guard with that remark. It was literally the last thing she had expected him to say.

“Gimli, daughter of Gloín.” She introduced herself stoically and inclined her head in greeting. Her blood connection to the ruling family Durin line was tenuous, but still… The protocol had to be observed in such matters. “King Thranduil.”

“I’ve wondered if you had any idea who I am.” The elf said and removed himself from the throne. He was looming over Gimli in a distressing manner. The dam took a step back to get more space. “It seems your education didn’t suffer in exile in the West.”

The dam broke her composure a bit and glared at the reminder. She blurted out. “I know all about it. How you made Thorin, barely off age, orphaned dwarf and newly awakened sentinel, to leave with what remained of his people. How he had to rely on the Lady Galadriel’s and Lord Elrond’s elves for protection and aid you’ve denied them, despite the fact your own son granted them the sanctuary on your lands.”

“Durin’s blood always breeds true. His greed pervaded Thrór and caused his gold-madness to spiral out of control, which resulted in a dragon attack.” Thranduil hissed at Gimli. “I wasn’t about to throw my people’s lives on the dragon’s wrath for the sake of a few dwarves.”

“The rulers of other elf realms were compelled to act in your stead, taking care of the bereaved dwarrow and helping them to flee to the west.” Gimli tried to make a point to the king. It was a futile endeavour.

“You didn’t think I would suffer the dwarves dwelling in my forest. Certainly not after everything their greed caused. Not to mention Thorin became one of those abominations.” The king spat out, pacing angrily back and forth in an unseemly display of temper. “I’ve lived through the First Age when Fëanor’s sentinel sons waged a merciless war against Morgoth for the murder of their father and theft of those accursed gems. The war that devastated the entire continent and almost ended in the total annihilation of every living being on this side of the sea, if not for the Valar’s intervention.”

The dam shook her head in denial of the elf king’s accusations. It wasn’t what Ylva told her. The wolf implied it was the combined wounds of the centuries of war that brought the gifted from the race of elves to leave the shores of Arda for the Blessed Realm. Only then, it fell to dwarrow and humans to stand in protection of lands of Eriador and Rhovanion. Sauron’s rising darkness then ensured the sentinels and guides in both species were awakening in droves.

“And less said about that silver-haired traitor, Fëanor’s grandson, the better. He dared to do unthinkable and bonded with a dwarf. That was only a little better than his later actions, like forging that cursed piece of jewellery.”

“He didn’t do it.” The dam spat out, unable to hold her tongue against such accusations.

Thranduil raised his eyebrow mockingly. “And what would a barely-of-age dwarf know about the events long past?”

Gimli stubbornly kept quiet. It wouldn’t end well for her if she admitted to the king she had first-hand knowledge about Celebrimbor, as the guide bonded to him, considering the hatred Thranduil spewed towards the ancient sentinel-guide pair.

Thranduil took the dam’s silence as a victory and continued in his rant. “And my son… I’m old enough to remember the wars of the First and Second Ages. Legolas is a mirror image of Celebrimbor. Did you think I wouldn’t put things together? Celebrimbor and that dwarf of his were rumoured to be powerful enough to get the entire region of Eriador under their control. Everyone knows the story of twice-born Glorfindel. Even that cursed dwarf Durin did it several times, so it wasn’t out of the realm of impossible, Legolas was also one of few, Valar deemed important enough to be reborn back in Arda. I wasn’t going to let my son fall victim to the machinations of higher beings. Morgoth’s curse on Celebrimbor and all of his ilk.”

Gimli stared at him in horror, as certain things fell into the place. “What have you done?”

The king smirked sinisterly and his next words froze the blood in her veins. “What was necessary.”

* * *

“We have to tell Thorin, the elf king is a danger to you. You can’t stay here.” Bilbo exclaimed shakily, as soon as the dam was deposited back in her rooms. Gimli’s meeting with the elf king was very unpleasant.

“I’m not afraid of him,” Gimli stated. “He corrupted his meagre gifts a long time ago when he began to think binding his son’s gifts was a good idea. His perverted use of his guide gifts twisted him enough he isn’t entirely sane. I don’t know how he is hiding his corruption from the other guides in his realm, but just a moment in his unshielded presence was enough for me to guess what he did to his son and the current state of his mind.”

“Legolas mentioned most gifted were stationed far away from the palace, guarding the borders. They also rarely return back. I think only the redhead captain is here often enough to notice something. But she is a sentinel, one honour bound to obey her king. Without taking a closer look at her I don’t know if Thranduil didn’t manage to corrupt her too.”

“It’s a mess. The king, palace, elves, dwarrow, the dragon.” Bilbo started raving. “I should have stayed in the Shire, enjoying my simple and adventure-free life. If not for you dwarrow and Thorin especially, I would be still a respectable hobbit, going about his own things without any care in the world.”

“Now, now, Bilbo. If you didn’t meet us, you wouldn’t see the beauty of the rest of the world outside the boundaries of your Shire. You wouldn’t meet your sentinel and get out of that boring life you hated.”

“Well… I could do without trolls. And orcs. And spiders. And dragons.” Bilbo finished shrilly, with the nerves shot down at the sheer number of evil creatures he met so far.

“A great reward requires a lot of work and sacrifice,” Gimli said wisely, putting on her serious face.

“Right.” Bilbo quieted down, thinking about Gimli’s words.

“Anyways, about that plan…” Gimli started, trying to get the hobbit back on the track.

“You’ll need my help.” Legolas finished.


	8. Part 7

Both guides jumped a foot into the air at the elf sentinel’s unexpected interruption. Gimli stared at him balefully. “You took at least ten years of my life with that stunt.” She complained loudly. “Finished pouting?”

Legolas decided to ignore the jab. “Not the right time, Gimli.” Before he smirked meaningfully at the dam.

Gimli flushed at the seductiveness barely hidden under his aloof veneer. “Later, then.”

Bilbo looked from the dwarf guide to elf sentinel and back, smirking the entire time. So, that was what he was missing. The compatibility between practically screamed to anyone with even a smidge of guide or sentinel gifts. Thorin was going to be furious when he finds out. Gloín’s reaction to his daughter’s future bonded was going to be as entertaining. The hobbit cleared his throat pointedly, interrupting the staring contest between them and asked the elf prince. “Are you offering your help, Master Legolas?”

The dam vehemently rejected the hobbit’s suggestion. “NO, Bilbo. He isn’t. That would be treason.”

“Treason? What treason. He’ll be just helping an … how did you put it, Legolas? … uninvited guests to leave the borders of their realm. What a lot of nonsense. Thank Yavanna, the hobbits are sensible enough not to follow any of that royalty nonsense.” The hobbit guide grumbled under his breath, forcing a startled laugh out of the elf.

“I am the youngest son of the king, that’s a true, master hobbit. But still, I am beholden to obey him as a king first and father a second. And the king’s word is a law.” Legolas explained. “He commanded your incarceration and unfortunately I don’t have the clout to go against his direct order. Maybe my siblings would have had more success…”

Gimli only nodded and added. “I am also of royal descent through my father, only more distant than Prince Legolas. Still, I’m beholden to my king first and my cousin the second. Sometimes it’s a tightrope to walk.”

“I still don’t understand all of that nonsense.” Bilbo pouted. 

“Legolas. Is there any way you can help us?” Gimli asked bluntly, tired of beating about the bush. 

Hackles up at a clear challenge in the dam’s voice, Legolas nodded. His father overstepped the boundaries when he more-or-less threatened an unbonded guide. The king was lucky there weren’t any of the more powerful sentinels in the vicinity of the palace when he had his little chat with the dam. It wouldn’t have ended well for him. “I think I’ll be able to help you. But it depends on what my captain thinks. I’ve heard she argued loudly with the king about his treatment of dwarrow. That got her banished on the patrol for tonight.”

“You know your father’s actions aren’t making any sense, right?” Gimli spoke carefully to the elf. “He is going to end up dispossessed if he ever crosses a wrong gifted. His prejudice is quite blatant and doesn’t make him any friends amongst our kind. I don’t know about your siblings and where they stand, but I have a feeling it won’t take long and your father will be forcibly replaced.”

“I know, and I understand, what you mean, but he is still my father. I can’t be seen to work against him, no matter how out of line he is. You can say, it’s a burden of my status. And unfortunately, all of the sentinel-guide matters fall under Tauriel’s purview, as the strongest gifted, no matter her bonded status, to manage. She’ll be amenable to help. Probably.”

“That’s fine with me.” Gimli retorted, a flash of something, a reluctant attraction maybe, she sensed a while ago, coming to the forefront in her mind. “Bilbo?”

The other guide retorted tartly. “She is interested in Kíli. It’s obvious, even if the others didn’t quite catch on. I think that was the cause of her storming out of dungeons and confronting Thranduil.”

“That’s interesting,” Gimli said and smirked as she thought of the probable reason the elleth was interested in her slightly older cousin.

“A young dwarf prince, one taking after your uncle in looks? That one?” Legolas repeated incredulously.

“And?” Gimli asked rudely. “Do you have something against the dwarrow in particular, Master elf?”

“No. No. Of course, I don’t. I just think it’s a strange coincidence. And something to ponder on.”

“I would like to know your hard limits.” Gimli prodded the elf to talk. “So we know what to expect from you.”

“I may be able to scout ahead and divert any undesirable attention from the palace guards. It shouldn’t make anybody suspicious, as I’m often seen wandering the grounds. Also, I have intimate knowledge of the palace and the surrounding areas. I should be able to come up with the best route for you to leave the premises.” 

“That’s also a good point to make.” Bilbo conceded. The elf’s superior knowledge of their surroundings would be very helpful.

“What about the dwarrow locked up in the dungeons?” Gimli thought out loud. “Are they together? Or divided into the individual cells?”

“That’s when we’ll need Tauriel. One elf, even a sentinel one, won’t be enough to get everyone out in a timely manner.” Legolas revealed reluctantly.

Gimli eyed him critically. “You are risking a lot in this endeavour. Why?”

“You are my guide.” He replied simply, the truth of that statement resonating through both guides. “Even if you persist on the foolishness of following your brethren to the mountain to confront a fire-breathing dragon.”

Gimli flushed at the elf’s brazen summation of their circumstances. Bilbo, smirking at her, wasn’t much of a help. 

“I ask you, Bilbo, to stay here with Gimli until Tauriel returns.” Legolas turned to the hobbit. “I realize you have a way going about unseen but that ability shouldn’t be abused. In exchange, I promise to look after your sentinel and other dwarrow.”

“Very well, Legolas.” Bilbo agreed, suddenly feeling fatigued, as the excitement of past hours finally caught up to him.

Gimli noticed it and ushered the hobbit towards the bed. “Sleep, you desperately need it. We’ll be reconvening when Tauriel returns.”

Yawning hobbit just fell onto the bed, falling instantly asleep. Gimli turned to the elf sentinel to speak more of this Tauriel, only finding him long gone.

* * *

Legolas was waiting for Tauriel at the palace gates. The redhead elleth was a bit dishevelled when she walked over to him. With just one look, Legolas concluded, the patrol was eventful. He cocked an eyebrow in a silent question. 

“Those damned spiders. They are everywhere. You were right. They are converging on the palace. Soon enough, I’ll have to call others to defend the palace.” She said plainly and blew her tangled hair out of her face.

“You know, father won’t allow it,” Legolas said, while he searched the elleth for injuries with his gaze. 

“I don’t plan to give him a choice,” Tauriel replied tartly. “The protection of our people is my responsibility. It’s the responsibility of every sentinel. I sense the most powerful of our brethren already noticed the spider’s movements. As we are speaking, they are swiftly returning. Gilwith and Maran are about half-day away from reaching the palace.” Looking at the prince, she noted. “But that wasn’t what you wanted to know, right? I see you are almost vibrating out of your skin. What’s happened?”

“I found my guide.” Legolas burst out, no longer able to contain his excitement before his long-time friend.

Tauriel’s eyes widened in surprise and choked out. “You too?” 

“Dwarf, right? What are the chances…” Legolas mused aloud to the blushing elleth. “I mean mine is too. That’s what you’ve argued with the king.”

Tauriel’s face darkened and her eyes sparkled with anger. “He had no right to detain them. I’m sorry, Legolas, but that was the last straw. As soon as others come in, I’ll have to start the process of getting him removed. Your oldest sister already agreed to take the throne. I have to warn you, it won’t be pretty.”

“I know,” Legolas predicted. “Father won’t surrender gracefully. He is too used to his power. I’m afraid we’ll have to force him to stand down. And he still has a lot of following amongst us. It won’t go smoothly.”

Tauriel nodded in understanding. “Hopefully, it won’t come to it.”

Legolas raised his eyebrow sceptically at her optimism. And quickly turned his head in the direction of Gimli’s room when he caught a scream. A red haze swallowed his rational mind and he tore down the corridor. Not paying attention to his fellow sentinel, he was single-mindedly focused on his guide’s heartbeat that was beating frantically. 

Both sentinels came upon a horrifying sight. The guard was sprawled at the doors to Gimli’s room, hopefully just unconscious. Trembling Bilbo was clutching the enraged dam around her waist, whispering calming words in her ear. The dam was glowing. Blue sparkles swirled dangerously around her hands and she was glaring dangerously at his father. Thranduil was laying on the ground with a wolf, _Ylva_ , as his mind added, standing on his chest and snarling at his face.

Gimli broke out of Bilbo’s hold and walked to the elf king, whispering chillingly. It echoed in the entire room, freezing everyone in their places. “You dare to come near me with those cuffs? I should strike you dead where you are.” Taking a look at the pale sentinels standing near the door, she continued, as her aura intensified alarmingly and blue seeped into her eyes. Thousands of voices reverberated. “Thranduil, son of Oropher. This is your judgement.”

Legolas, Tauriel and Bilbo fell to their knees, forced there by the suffocating power swelling inside the room, and listened to the various voices shouting out. “Damaged guide. Dormant guide. Unworthy. Greedy. Wrathful.”

“Silence.” An ancient voice coming out Gimli’s mouth commanded. Everything fell eerily quiet in the next instant. The dam continued, uninterrupted. “You are guilty of subduing sentinel with those Morgoth crafted cuffs. You are guilty of attempting to do the same to his guide. You are guilty of forsaking your calling and getting your sentinel killed with your foolishness. You are guilty of using your gifts in a harmful way.”

“I won’t have my son to become another traitor to his race. I won’t have it. I don’t care what you think.” Thranduil spitted out madly, trying to shake the enraged wolf from his chest.

The anticipation built up rapidly, as the dam kneeled beside the raving elf king and put her hands on his forehead. A bedraggled doe, covered head to toes in festering wounds, shimmered in the view, taking her place on Gimli’s side. Bilbo hissed at the state of the poor spirit animal. The elf sentinels were horrified at seeing the evidence of the king‘s corruption.

Gimli’s hands glowed. The doe nudged them gently, taking care not to touch Thranduil directly. She was hurt enough with his twisted intentions and wished for rest. A spark of power ran down Gimli’s hands and the bond between a spirit guide and elf lord was severed. The doe keened mournfully and faded out of the sight, finally free.

The dam’s eyes teared at the loss of the gentle doe and the blue aura around her wavered with grief. Pushing the feelings aside, she let the ancient presence fill her again and everything brightened. Sparkling power entered the elf king, snuffing the guide gifts from his mind, rendering him unconscious. Next instant the suffocating otherworldly presence disappeared without a trace.

Gimli was breathing heavily, exhausted by the unprecedented use of her gifts. But her work was not done. She stood up and approached her sentinel, putting her palms on his arm. A cuff popped into view with a flash. The dam grimaced. It had to go if she had a chance to bond with her sentinel. Sending a strong bolt of power caused the cuff to shimmer briefly before it fell open on the ground.

Legolas stared at his father deeply wounded by his betrayal. He knew they hadn’t the best relationship, but his actions, the suppression of his gifts, was so far out of line he couldn’t forgive it. His senses amplified as soon as Gimli freed him from the cuff and he instinctively sought comfort in his guide’s familiar mind. Using the last of her strength, the dwarf guide enveloped her overwrought sentinel in her shields and their dormant bond flared into life.

Afterwards, Gimli collapsed on the ground, completely spent. The blue light vanished abruptly, leaving behind only a pair of wolves, fairly humming with power.


	9. Part 8

_We can’t stay here. Gimli’s judgement won’t be accepted by everyone._ The male wolf whispered to his shell-shocked sentinel. _Your guide was an instrument which the higher powers rendered judgement over your father. Some will resent her for it, considering the fraught relations between elves and dwarrow._

 _She is vulnerable in this state._ Ylva nosed the dam’s unmoving hand and sent out a burst of energy down their bond. Gimli twitched but remained unconscious. _It would be for the best if we leave the palace now. There is nothing to gain if we stay here while your sister consolidates her power._

 _It was one of her tasks she agreed to undertake on behalf of the Valar. Don’t resent her for it. Besides, Thranduil had it coming._ Eirik explained to his sentinel. The bond between them was thrumming with power. The wolf was barely holding back the maelstrom brewing in the sentinel’s mind. _You know who she is to you._

 _My guide. My wife. My One. Lukhdel._ Legolas whispered her name reverently, brushing away a lock of hair out of her face. He couldn’t believe he was so lucky to have his guide back. One lifetime spent with her certainly wasn’t enough. Putting away the memories of their life together back in Eirik’s safekeeping, Legolas forcefully dragged his attention back to the present and frowned mightily. The dam wasn’t prone to hysterics, not in her life as Narví, or now as Gimli. She had to seriously exhaust herself to faint like that. And that was a problem.

 _She’ll be all right in a few hours._ Ylva said after she directed more of her strength into her charge. The dam was soaking it in like a sponge and the wolf noticed their bond was slowly coming back to life. 

“We can’t dawdle,” Tauriel said, eyeing curiously a vaguely familiar male wolf, the prince’s spirit animal. “The guards will be here soon, after all of this commotion. We shouldn’t be found with an unconscious king, a guard, a destroyed room and vulnerable guides.”

Making the decision on the spot, Legolas gathered his unconscious guide in his arms and walked out of the room with a pair of wolves trotting after him. “Tauriel, Bilbo, the dungeons.” He called over his shoulder. The hobbit scampered right after Legolas, leaving the redhead elleth in the dust. Thorin wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he wasn’t present for his rescue.

“Males.” Tauriel rolled her eyes and went after them.

* * *

The unlikely group reached the dungeons in relative peace, without meeting anyone on their way. The elves’ knowledge of the palace and the guards’ schedule came in handy. Bilbo hissed, the fine hair at the back of his neck standing up. The narrow corridor was flooded by the uncontrolled power of a newly awakened guide. 

It hit Tauriel next and the elleth turned her steps directly to Kíli’s cell. With trembling hands, she unlocked the heavy door and fell in. The dwarf prince was lying on his back, shivering as the waves of psionic power roiled around him riotously. His brother was sitting beside him forlornly staring at the little raven hopping on his brother’s chest, not knowing what to do. The elleth didn’t hesitate and grabbed one of Kíli’s hands, hoping her strength would be enough to help him to build his shields. The power swelled dangerously, washing everything in blue. 

Bilbo jumped in and put his hands over Kíli’s head trying to stabilize the poor dwarf. He was kicking himself at not noticing what was going on with the young dwarf. But in his defence, he was very distracted by recent events. The raven pecked Kíli on his forehead and squawked. Kíli sighed and levelled out. 

“Hey,” Tauriel whispered when the dwarf finally opened his eyes. A fragile connection, not quite a bond, yet, flared to life between them. 

“Hey.” Kíli smiled at the redhead sentinel and allowed the link to anchor him to the elleth. 

“Now is not the time and place for bonding, Tauriel. We have to go.” Legolas cut in harshly. Twin glares showed the elf prince what exactly the newly linked pair thought of his suggestion. Legolas just nodded his head at the still locked cells. The dwarrow were making a racket and demanded to know what was happening. “Gimli’s escape was discovered.” He warned.

Tauriel tuned her senses and listened attentively to the on-goings in the chamber the female dwarf was previously held. She winced when she overheard the order to catch her dead or alive. Galion was overstepping his bounds. Rían would make him regret it when she hears about it. But it might be too late for Gimli, judging by the amount of noise the guards stomping in every direction caused. 

“Legolas is right. We have to go. The dungeons have only one entrance. The one which we came in. We can’t risk being discovered by guards. They could easily bar our only way to escape. It could devolve into a fight we need to avoid at all costs.” Tauriel explained, as she swiftly stood up and helped her guide to stand on his feet. The dwarf wobbled, clutching Tauriel’s hand for a dear life, still a bit out of it. The presence of his sentinel was a comfort in the world that was abruptly both – not making any sense to him and making too much sense.

Legolas was torn. Tauriel wouldn’t be able to free everyone on her own. He just wasn’t too sure about leaving Gimli with her kin. Their wolves slinked away when he wasn’t paying attention, so there went a relatively quick and easy way for his guide to replenish her strength. The link they shared was growing more intense, as the dam was inching back to consciousness. He put away his misgivings and placed the dam into Fíli’s care, before hastening to help Tauriel to unlock rest cells. Shortly, all dwarrow were freed and they congregated in the middle of the corridor. 

“Armoury is on the second level. It will bring us to the kitchens.” Legolas guessed the reason for the dwarrow reticence to go around unarmed. He too felt naked without his favourite bow on his back. And taking some food also wouldn’t be amiss. At least that was what he gathered from Gimli’s mutterings when she was mulling over what would be needed to reach Esgaroth safely.

The dam groaned and stiffened when a realization hit her. She wasn’t in the room Thranduil provided for her. She elbowed her captor sharply into his ribs before the familiar feel of Fíli’s emotional tone registered properly in her mind. In retaliation, her older cousin let her fall on the ground. Gimli rolled over and glared up at him. “Help me up! Or else!”

Legolas smirked at the speed the golden dwarf obeyed Gimli’s orders. It was his own fault for provoking her wrath. She was a force to reckon with and it seemed her cousin was well aware of that. The elf prince was relieved his guide was all right and turned his steps towards the armoury. The dam winked at him and followed his lead with her friends and kin hurrying up after them.

* * *

Sneaking out of the palace was a child-play. Legolas would be more appalled by the lax security if he didn’t have more pressing matters on the mind. Like his pretty dwarf guide. Although, for some reason, he couldn’t get an image of older Gimli with her hair braided, heavy mithril and sapphire crown on her head and icy-blue gown decorated with more tiny sapphires and diamonds, out of his mind. All of these persistent thoughts were making him look at his guide. 

The dam was staring back at him as intently, slowly trailing her eyes up and down his body. Legolas blushed. He wasn’t used to such blatant appreciation from a female. Every elf, and he was counting even those of other kingdoms, was much, much older than him. He was considered very young in their opinion, barely an adult of his race. From what he managed to overhear from one of the older dwarf’s grumbles, probably her father, Gimli was in the same boat. She came off age literally the day the company left Ered Luin.

It was something to ponder on later when they were a reasonable distance away from the palace. The prince winced as he caught the palace bells ringing, boldly announcing a prison break. It seemed Galion went over Rían’s head and called for a hunt. She would have her work cut for her. As most sentinels, with exception of Tauriel and him, were stationed away, when his father decided to be unreasonable and assaulted Gimli, it was highly improbable for any member of guard to stumble upon their trail. Unfortunately, it would take his sister some time to consolidate her power, and until then he and all of his co-conspirators were not welcomed in Mirkwood.

Legolas ducked sharply to the left. An arrow fairly reeking of the malice missed him by inches. “Orcs.” The elf shouted and aimed his bow towards the trees. Their group was at the riverbank, completely in the open, no cover in sight. Sauron’s creatures were using the forest to attack them from all sides. It was getting his instincts riled up to see his guide, well… all of the guides, in serious danger. Tauriel and her dwarf followed his actions and primed their bows at the thees, searching for the threats. 

“Azog.” Thorin snarled at the pale orc, as soon as he caught his foul stench. They had some unfinished business to attend. The dwarf prodded his guide to the protective circle of his Company and attacked recklessly the location where the orc leader was standing.

“I’m going to kill that dwarf myself. What does he think? Rushing on Azog like that? Does he have a death wish?” Bilbo cursed under his breath to the amusement of the elves in his vicinity and clutched his little Sting tighter in his hand, prepared to defend himself. Again. Where did his predictable and boring life go? Right… It stayed behind, back in the Shire, when in the moment of insanity he chose to follow his sentinel on this foolhardy quest.

The orc pack took Thorin’s attack as a challenge to fight. Azog guttural growls instructed them to outflank the pitiful dwarrow and elves and kill them all. The orcs run at Company en masse, menacing weapons gleaming in the afternoon sun. Snarling half-starved wargs followed them eagerly into the fray, baying for the blood. 

Gimli tightened her hold on her axes, sparing a moment of gratefulness for Legolas’s foresight to secure their weapons before they left the palace. They were outnumbered by a great deal. She gulped heavily, wishing fervently that she had spent more time practising archery with Kíli. Gimli ruthlessly locked down her empathy and turned on the orcs.

The archers were taking out their share of the enemy combatants. It was not enough. Some orcs managed to ride through the constant fire and got uncomfortably close to the rest of them. They were armed only with close-ranged weapons. The dam twirled her axes, expertly taking out two wargs rushing at her in one move. The adrenaline hummed in her blood and she vented the aggressiveness of her spirit animal on the unsuspecting wargs and orcs. 

Slightly out of breath, Legolas turned to her. “All right there, Gimli?”

“Never better,” the dam replied, grinning bloodthirsty, and disabled another warg and its rider in the next moment. She ducked, barely avoiding an arrow. The fight drew the palace guards into their location. So much for escaping the woods without the king’s lackeys on their trail.

Gimli dropped down, losing one of her axes. She loathed to admit the newly-arrived elves were efficiently helping to take care of orcs and wargs. And of course, it would be perfect if they would stop from attacking her, as well as orcs. The dam narrowly evaded another batch of arrows intended to take her out. 

“Lukhdel. Look out.” Legolas shouted and threw himself into an arrow’s path.


	10. Part 9

“Legolas. Izgilê.” Gimli cried out when she saw her elf fall on the ground, injured by those overzealous guards. Her anger flared and the world was washed in blue. The dam couldn’t prevent what happened next even if she was inclined to. The power swelled and she lashed out empathically, taking down a significant portion of elves and the rest of orcs in one swoop. 

Poor Kíli was clutching his head, his paper-thin shields giving up under her involuntary attack. Bilbo buckled under the onslaught of the grief and anger the dam was projecting. It was a near thing, but fortunately, his shields held. Seeing this, Gimli wrangled herself back under control and with some difficulty raised her shields. The incomplete bond she shared with Legolas wasn’t helping in the slightest. She clung to it no matter how hard it was to bear the pain radiating from it. And Ylva was wandering, only Mahal knew where, when she needed her here and now to facilitate a safe release of her connection to the spirit realm. The dam huffed, sensing her wolf was once again by her side, and carefully let go. The blue receded and Gimli dropped down to her knees, frantically looking over Legolas for injuries. 

The sentinels shrugged off Gimli’s attack the quickest. They brandished their swords and made quick work of remaining orcs and wargs. Thorin took great pleasure in severing Azog’s head from his body. His need for revenge was finally satisfied. That reminded him…

“Izgilê, Gimli? You’ve given him a dwarf name?” Thorin censured his cousin, as soon as the last orc was dead. He saw something in her face and scowled. “Are you kidding me? Thranduil’s son? Really?”

Gimli stubbornly lifted her chin, refusing to back down from Thorin. “He is mine and I won’t have another.”

“That’s interesting.” Thorin conceded at last, as a half-forgotten memory stirred at the back of his mind. _Not the time_ and shrugged it off. He had other worries to fret about. He picked up that all of the Mirkwood’s gifted were diverted in their direction. “We have to go on. Your little loss of control called the elven sentinels and guides from all over this blasted forest to our location.” 

The dam used the distraction of her father and others, while they were securing the elves out of the way, and making sure every last orc and warg was dead, to take care of her sentinel. “Sentinel mine. What am I going to do with you?” She sighed, broke the arrow in two pieces and cautiously withdrew it from the elf’s side in one quick tug. The blood immediately started to pour out of the wound. Gimli put her hand on it to staunch the flow and cocked her eyebrow challengingly at the wolves. 

_Where did you disappear when I needed you?_ Gimli took the spirit animals to the task. Their irregular arrivals and subsequent departures were hard to predict and it was driving her mad. 

Ylva wasn’t even trying to look guilty. _There are some things that must come to pass without our interference, Lukhdel. I’m not sure what you are remembering from the bargain you struck with the Valars but that was one of their conditions before they let you be reborn._

Gimli scowled. _I don’t remember anything about that. I have almost all of Narví’s memories up to her death. Everything after that is a mystery._

Ylva and Eirik looked at each other as if suddenly some things were making sense to them. However, there wasn’t time to delve deeper into those matters, since Legolas was injured and they were still quite a way from Esgaroth. Ylva nudged her mate and together they nosed the wound in the elf’s side. It wasn’t good. The poison from the arrow was spreading rapidly in his bloodstream and the infection was starting. _Lukhdel, now._

Under Ylva’s firm direction, the dwarf guide let out a small trickle of her power. The blue mist glimmered around the wound, shrinking it rapidly until it vanished, leaving unblemished skin behind. The pain in the sentinel’s face eased and he blinked up. “Thank you, Gimli.”

“It’s not healed completely. So, don’t try to strain yourself unnecessarily.” The guide insisted adamantly, as she drew back and put her shields up.

Legolas probed his side, to find out his guide was right. The injury was gone but the spot was still very sensitive to touch. The soft tissue needed more time to heal naturally. About two to three days for an elf that was also a sentinel.

“You are a healer?” Bilbo asked shrilly. The guides with a healer gift were prized above anything in the Shire. It was a great honour to develop such gifts and those guides were always indulged to the untold degree. 

The commotion called the attention of Gimli’s father. Glóin stomped to them. He caught a bit about a healer and frowned, not liking his daughter getting familiar with the elf princeling. “Did you say a healer? Like a guide healer, Master Baggins?”

“Yeah?” Bilbo backpedalled, sensing he overstepped his bounds and revealed something he didn’t mean to. Because Glóin reverted back to the formal address when he was getting angry.

“Thanks a lot, Bilbo.” Gimli glared at the hobbit and let herself led away by her father. She knew her adad wanted some definitive answers for what was going on. Thinking quickly, Gimli decided what to disclose and what to keep quiet. “Thorin approved of my continued inclusion in the quest. Also, I’ve signed the contract, the same as the others. It was not my fault Balin wasn’t as thorough and forgot to include the clauses about newly awakened sentinels and guides as it pertains to their continuation of the quest, their training and their care.”

“Hey,” Balin called out offended. How was he supposed to know the quest would bring the sleeping gifted online. They were quite rare amongst the dwarrow, and with each subsequent generation, their numbers dwindled even more. Thorin was one of the last ones to awaken amongst Durin folk. Although, it was highly curious that two guides, both with royal blood in their veins, awakened in a matter of months of leaving Ered Luin.

Gimli continued, ignoring the older dwarf’s indignation. “Besides, I don’t see anyone questioning Kíli’s place on this quest. And he awakened only a few hours ago, with no training and no shields to speak of.”

Glóin looked over at Kíli and snorted. “I ain’t touching that with a ten-foot pole, Gimli.” The she-elf was hovering over the dwarf prince, making it quite clear he was hers. And Kíli had hearts in his eyes for the female sentinel. “Nevertheless, it’s clear to me you are too young to make the right decisions for yourself.”

The dam rolled her eyes. “Didn’t we already have that argument months ago? I am of age, adad.”

“Of age, maybe, but foolish nonetheless.” Glóin glowered at his daughter. The stubborn child would be his death one way or another.

“Pot calling the kettle black?” Gimli sniped back. The age thing was getting old. She was the youngest, so what. Her adad should have already gotten over it. While it was his prerogative to refuse to let her go on the quest when she was underaged, he couldn’t continue to do so after she became of age. Unfortunately for her adad, she reached the right age the day Thorin’s Company left Ered Luin. She caught up to them on the first night out and presented her cousin the signed contract. And that was it. Of course, her adad shouted at her for going over his head and glared at Nori, as if it was his fault, but ultimately, she won.

“Which way is Esgaroth?” Gimli asked the elves, as she pointedly turned her back on her father. She was finished with the conversation. 

“We have to follow the river,” Legolas replied, although he wasn’t quite certain about being out in the open. They had gotten rid of one orc pack but there might be others lurking in the trees. “Do you know anything about steering a ship?”

“I was on a boat once.” Bilbo peeped out. Other dwarrow joined in quickly with the snippets of their own experiences.

Gimli eyed flimsy-looking wooden boats dubiously. “Absolutely nothing. The dwarrow are mountain dwellers. No need for ships and similar nonsense. And I sincerely hope you aren’t planning to put me in one of those deathtraps.” 

“It is the quickest and safest way to reach Esgaroth. Tauriel and I have done it hundreds of times in every kind of weather imaginable.” The sentinel interjected, trying to calm down Gimli.

The redhead elleth perked up at hearing her name. She scowled at Legolas. She didn’t like sailing and he knew it. The prince signed her a question and she nodded reluctantly. “Today is your lucky day. We are trading with humans fairly often. They are expecting a shipment of fur, wood and wine from us.”

“They would need to disguise their smell,” Tauriel remarked. “I’m not sure about their stance of inviting dwarrow to enter their town, after everything that came down with a dragon.”

“No. It’s not necessary.” Legolas objected. “There are guides present. Most of the town guard is made of sentinels. They won’t turn away a guide in need. Gimli?”

Resigned Gimli groaned and with Legolas’s help, she climbed on the deck. That elf was liable to talk her into anything, including getting on the boat against her better judgement. She put her hand against her mouth and tried to fight back a sudden queasiness, when the boat wobbled dangerously with every dwarf’s arrival on the deck. She glared at her sentinel. It was the worst idea he ever had, and she was counting that time Celebrimbor got her on the horse just to make her uncomfortable. 

“Everyone is on board?” Legolas called out. The chorus of affirmative shouts answered him. The elf untied the boats from the piers. They quickly started floating down the stream. Legolas ran alongside the ships, before spotting a convenient stone. He took a deep breath and jumped, landing nimbly beside Gimli.

The dam paled and sat down abruptly, her nausea worsening. Being on the boat on the water wasn’t agreeing with her. Give her horse any time. Anything was better than this. 

“All right there, Gimli?” The elf dared to ask her. 

“What do you think?” She glared at him, trying to push back the knowledge that only a flimsy wood was standing between her and the watery death. She didn’t sign up for this. 

The chastised elf took the hint and went away to steer the ship. He wasn’t aware of the adverse reaction of his guide towards the floating vessels. Looking around, he noticed the rest of dwarrow didn’t show any signs of nausea. Shrugging it off, as one of Gimi’s peculiarities, he turned attention to navigating the vessel on the river. The currents were treacherous, if one didn’t know them well.

Nori planted his ass beside the dam, softly caressing her back. She sighed in relief and let her fellow guide to ease most of her discomfort. She hated the fact she was unable to use her abilities to heal herself. Gimli gratefully nodded her head. “Thank you, Nori. I needed that.”

“You are welcome, Gimli.” The thief smirked roguishly and teased her. “So, when are you going to leave that elf princeling. Don’t you think I am a better choice than him?

“I don’t deny you are attractive, Nori.” Gimli returned his smirk and bantered back. The dwarf preened at the compliment. But the dam continued unabashedly. “You have your own sentinel. Besides, I think Dwalin wouldn’t like it if I moved on his territory.” 

Dwalin looked up from cleaning his weapons, hearing his name being uttered. Nori quickly turned away from the intense gaze and conceded. “You are one dangerous female.”


	11. Part 10

Bard glared at the bedraggled and miserable group on his steps. He never saw a more diverse party – dwarrow, elves and was that a hobbit? He thought they existed only in fairy-tales. Eyeing the boats that were in the process of unloading at the town’s only pier, he frowned darkly. He didn’t take seriously the reports from the town guard when the boats arrived. Not until he saw all of them with his own eyes, standing on his doorstep.

And speaking of dwarrow. Their presence in his town rubbed him wrong, making his sentinel instincts to sit up and take the notice. What they were doing here? Didn’t they leave the area long before his own father was born? Their arrival stirred something up and it didn’t bode well for his people. He wanted them out of his territory, preferably before they chose to do something rash, like taking on the dragon.

“Da. No.” Sigrid exclaimed loudly, and put a restraining hand on her father’s arm, before he could open his mouth. She bowed to the dwarrow and invited them in. “Please, travellers, enjoy the hospitality of our home.”

“Sigrid?” He asked in surprise. His daughter only nodded shortly and grabbed Tilda’s hand, dragging her out of the house without another word. As soon as his daughters were out of his sight he turned back to his uninvited guests. “The only reason I won’t kick you out of my town, Thorin, son of Thraín, is that you came with the elves and thus are under their protection. It’s against my better judgement to allow you to remain within the boundaries of my town. So, take heed of my words and don’t make trouble.”

Thorin inclined his head and in the same tone, bordering on insulting, retorted. “On behalf of my company I thank you for your hospitality.” That earned him an elbow to his side from his guide for his rudeness.

The human sentinel sighed and stepped aside, allowing them to enter his abode. It was funny how the dwarf caved to the unspoken threat from his guide and tried to behave. If nothing else, the visitors would be entertaining. “Try not to drip the muddy water all over my rugs. They are new.” He called after them.

Thorin immediately sniped back something more insulting. Bilbo just rolled his eyes and gave up. Gimli unobtrusively sneaked up on the hobbit and nudged him away from the sentinels. The recalcitrant hobbit was avoiding her as much as possible, since their little chat in Thranduil’s palace, although she had clearly indicated to him they needed to speak. Thin walls of Bard’s home didn’t give them any privacy, but the sentinels were currently distracted with butting their heads. If they weren’t engaged in some kind of mental warfare, probably measuring whose dick was the biggest, she wouldn’t dare to approach her fellow guide for a quick talk.

“Bilbo.” Gimli nodded her head in the direction of a little patio in the back. The hobbit followed her inconspicuously, easily avoiding bumping into any dwarrow around Thorin. It was better to acquiesce to dam’s unspoken demands before she took the matters into her hands and dragged him away with her.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Gimli turned to Bilbo and demanded. “Show me that trinket, you are hiding in your pockets.”

The other guide pouted. “No.”

Gimli glared at him and extended her hand impatiently. “Now.”

Unenthusiastic hobbit reached inside his pocket and slowly withdrew something. He opened his palm and there laid a simple gold band. It didn’t look particularly dangerous, if not for its assault on both guides as soon as it was unveiled. The ring started sending the debilitating waves of hatred, greed and maliciousness in Gimli’s direction. Bilbo hissed, as his hand was burned, and he let the ring fall on the floor. “By Yavanna’s mercy. What was that?”

Gimli reached out, carefully wrapped the ring in a piece of spare cloth and pulled it up to examine it more closely. It tried to fight her back, but that didn’t discourage Gimli. She easily disregarded its repeated attempts to attack her, and probed it, until she encountered something strange. The ring contained a minuscule amount of psionic energy. The maliciousness she felt from time to time, was feeding on it. The dam frowned. That was an impossibility and a complication.

That piece of jewellery wasn’t as harmless as Bilbo assumed. When she thought about it, she remembered that exact ring was haunting her dreams for several nights shortly after she awakened. A golden band on the finger of the vicious monster, committing untold atrocities. Her mind shied away from it and Gimli shuddered. Most of the details of her dreams were indistinct, only a deceptively simple band of gold leaving a lasting impression on her. The ring was important.

Gimli scowled at it, half-wanting to shove it into her pocket, half-desiring to give it back to the hobbit. The trinket quieted as if sensing her deliberations. It was disturbing how intelligent that thing was. For a Ring of Power. It had to be one of them. Gimli knew her lore well enough to be rightly suspicious of it. There weren’t that many rings left – with human rings long returned to Sauron, elf rings safely in their master’s possessions and most dwarrow rings lost. Her hands trembled when she reached the conclusion of what was laying in her hands.

Steeling herself for a task that just had to be done, the dam cupped the ring and made a shield entirely of psionic energy around it. It was a temporary solution, but currently, they weren’t equipped to deal with it. The golden ring was then wrapped back into the cloth and Gimli returned it back to the hobbit.

“It was starting to erode your mental defences. You aren’t bonded to Thorin, so you didn’t notice.” The dam elaborated.

“I don’t want it.” Bilbo tried to push the ring back to Gimli, the blast of malice coming from it still fresh in his mind.

The dam wasn’t easily discouraged and just put the piece of jewellery back into his hand. “You’ve proved yourself to be uniquely resistant to its power, Bilbo. It’s safest in your possession, at least until we find a way to get rid of it once for all. Since I doubt that Thorin is going to make you steal the Arkenstone, you probably won’t get face to face with the dragon.”

“What about you? Can’t you take it?” Bilbo asked. It was clear to him Gimli, although still unbonded, was stronger than him. She was capable of the feats regular bonded guide couldn’t dream of. The ring should rightly be in her hands.

Gimli’s face darkened. “The ring hates me. It tries to send random bursts of negative feelings my way every chance it gets. It would be too dangerous, considering we are about to go and fight a dragon. It could distract me in a critical moment.”

Reluctantly, Bilbo pocketed the bundle and nodded decisively. “As soon as the matter of the dragon is settled, the ring is yours.”

Gimli was relieved. One thing to worry about later. “Thank you.”

* * *

The dinner in the home of the town’s strongest sentinel, and incidentally a descendant of the last lord of Dale, was stilted. Only the scrapping of cutlery against the plates was heard in the oppressive silence. Since Bilbo and Gimli took aside the rest of dwarrow and impressed upon them the importance of using their manners, and not to irritate Bard to the point they would be evicted from his home, everyone was on their best behaviour. Thorin included.

Sigrid, Bard’s older daughter, procured enough food in the market and with judicious help from Bilbo and Bombur, she managed to prepare a hearty dinner. Gimli frowned at her plate. She noticed the town wasn’t wealthy. Not even its lord. Bard’s finances took a big hit because of the unexpected expenses he spent on their behalf. She would have to think up a way to repay him without offending his pride.

One of Bard’s children, Tilda, if Gimli remembered correctly, couldn’t withstand the silence anymore and asked Bilbo. “Are you a fairy, Mr. Bilbo?”

Taken aback by an unexpected question, the guide stammered out. “No, little one. I’m not.”

“I’m not a little one. I am Tilda.” The child patiently explained. “So, who are you then? Some kind of dwarf species? I mean, Mr. Thorin here is a dwarf. Sigrid told me.”

“Well, I’m not a dwarf. I am a hobbit from the Shire. It’s a land far, far away from here. Beyond the Misty Mountains in the middle of Eriador.” Bilbo said, drawing on all of his patience he gained by watching over children of his Took cousins, dreading what would come of Tilda’s mouth next. He found out years ago the children were too observant for their own good and often managed to share those observations in the most inopportune moment.

“And what are you doing so far away from your home? Aren’t you afraid?” Tilda asked, burning with curiosity about fai… hobbit.

Bilbo caught Thorin’s gaze and replied gently. “Mr. Thorin is my sentinel. Do you know who the sentinels are?”

Tilda nodded her head vigorously and pointed at her father. “My da is one.”

“I am Thorin’s guide. He asked for my help with something and I agreed. And I am not afraid because my sentinel is always by my side to protect me.”

“Oh.” Tilda’s eyes widened in surprise. “Mr. Thorin, do you have a blue animal, like my da?”

The dwarf king nodded sagely at the eager questioning of the human child. All dwarrow had a soft spot for children and he wasn’t an exception. “It’s a big cat. Very big cat.”

“A kitty? Really? Da? Can I have a kitty when I am older?” Tilda turned the barrage of questions on her father, her curiosity satisfied for a moment.

“When you are older, perhaps. We’ll see.” Bard responded to his daughter, while he prayed inwardly she wasn’t called. His older daughter was a guide of moderate strength and he sensed his son was on the cusp of following in his footsteps and becoming the next sentinel in their line.

Tilda nodded decisively. “I am getting a kitty when I am older.”

The child’s tone resonated in Gimli’s mind and she looked up from her dinner curiously. That happened to her only once before and the dam wasn’t sure she wanted to rock the boat, metaphorically speaking, of course. She was desperately trying to overlook the fact they were currently dining in the house built on the water. Noone noticed anything strange about the little girl, but… Gimli stretched her empathy, gently feeling Tilda’s aura, confirming what she had guessed. Bard’s youngest was a sleeping guide. Very intuitive for her age, when one considered how cleverly she diffused the heavy atmosphere lingering in the house, and if nothing changed, a future healer.

Gimli caught Bard’s eyes and said clearly. “Not a kitty, I’m afraid. More likely a wolf…” She trailed off leadingly.

“But I want a kitty.” Tilda pouted and sat back with her arms crossed on her chest. The kitties were the best and she was always dreaming about having one.

Bard blanched when he worked out what the female guide was telling him. Wolf guides were very rare amongst human gifted. And they always awakened, no matter their circumstances. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Positive.” The dam nodded and offered. “When the time comes, send her to me for training. I’ll be able to help her to hone her gifts.”

“Are you a…?” Bard was lost at the female dwarf’s hint. This entire day was turning surreal. The dwarrow on his doorsteps. Foreign sentinels invading his territory. Surprise guides and fairy-tale creatures. Disobedient daughters and unexpected revelations. He sat back, mimicking Tilda’s pose, completely fed up with everything.

“Yes,” Gimli replied shortly, staring in sympathy at the man.


	12. Part 11

Thorin lighted up his pipe and stared in the distance at the lone mountain towering over the surrounding plains. The darkness of the evening cast ominous shadows over the mountain’s various nooks and crannies. He never hoped to return here, to the east, and see his former home again. It would be even better if the dragon wasn’t alive anymore. Tuning his senses to the mountain, he heard Smaug’s rumbling breath and some shifting. Apparently, the beast was alive but still sleeping. Small mercies.

“Humans are greedy,” Thorin stated out of blue, sensing Bard’s presence behind him, and turned around to judge man’s reaction to his unexpected exclamation. Since his exile in the west, he was dependent on the human’s non-existent mercy. He and every able-bodied dwarf in his settlement worked to the bone to provide for their families. And humans often exploited their desperation and paid less for the goods that were their worth.

“Really?” Bard snipped back. “Remind me, whose grand idea was it to gather so much gold in that Mountain that it called to the dragon?”

Thorin winced. Bard’s jab was spot on. He didn’t agree with his grandfather’s and father’s actions, but he was hardly more than a child when the dragon attacked and his opinion on such matters wasn’t desired back then. 

“You are going into the mountain.” The human sentinel guessed. “Why? You weren’t interested in getting your city back before now. Why are you going to take such a huge risk to wake a dragon? What has changed?”

“Gandalf.” was Thorin’s one-word answer. And that was enough for Bard. The old meddler stopped in the town every few years and tried to get them to do something about the dragon. Nobody was stupid enough to try. The stories of dragon’s wrath were enough of a deterrent for even the most hard-headed sentinel. 

“I can’t dissuade you of that?” Bard sighed and lit up his own pipe. The calming agent in the pipeweed was sorely needed to deal with the dwarrow and the trouble they were bringing to his doorstep.

Thorin shook his head. “It is my duty to attempt to regain our Halls here. My people are slowly dying out in Ered Luin. Our settlement can’t sustain our population anymore and the meagre wealth we are able to coax out of the mines is drying up faster than anyone suspects. That’s said, I suggest you evacuate the entire town as soon as we leave for Erebor. The dragon still lives, unfortunately, and I won’t have innocent lives on my conscience.”

Bard stared at the frowning dwarf thoughtfully and inhaled the smoke from his pipe slowly. It wasn’t hard to imagine the consequences of a dragon let loose on his city. The other sentinel was clearly torn between his desire to save his people and not to harm Bard’s if they couldn’t contain the dragon. Blowing up the smoke, he tapped the pipe thoughtfully, and apropos he said. “Girion, my grandfather, was there when Smaug burned Dale to the ground. He barely escaped with his life. From what he told me, it was only thanks to Prince Legolas, he was able to shoot one of the black arrows that hit the dragon and loosened some of his scales.”

Thorin froze in mid-motion when the implications set in his mind. “Why are you telling me that? What do you hope to gain from it?”

“If you wish to kill the dragon, it’s your only chance.” Bard insisted, ignoring the suspicions colouring the dwarf’s voice. “There are no more black arrows left in existence since the last ones were used during Smaug’s arrival and no dwarrow were around to forge more.”

Thorin stiffened his spine at the unvoiced reprimand from the other male. “In my defence, I was very young when Smaug attacked. I’ve just lost my grandfather and my parents and awakened as a sentinel at the same time. I had my siblings, who were only children back then, to look after and suddenly I found myself a king of the homeless dwarrow. I chose what was best for the survival of my people.”

Bard winced, pitying the dwarf in his company. The sudden retreat of dwarrow from the east was making more sense, now. It took humans several years to dare to venture back into the lands destroyed by Smaug.

“Thorin?” A shy voice stepped into their conversation, quietly derailing anymore of the serious conversations. 

“Bilbo. What’s the matter?” The dwarf frowned, trying to divine the cause of his guide’s discomfort. He didn’t have to guess for long, as the hobbit guilelessly revealed the cause of his presence. 

Bilbo ducked his head and waved at the door leading back to the house. “I’m sorry for interrupting you, but the others are asking for you. I was elected to get you.” 

“It seems the duty calls, Master Bard. I wish you a good evening.” Thorin inclined his head in respect for the man and followed his guide inside the house. 

“What was that, with Bard?” Bilbo tried to pry as soon as they were out of earshot. The man was throwing out complicated feelings over something he discussed with Thorin – sadness, resignation, and something akin to hope. It was confusing and a bit disturbing, therefore Gimli prodded him to get Thorin back inside.

“Bard shared a bit of very interesting knowledge. One that can mean our victory or certain death in the dragon fire.”

Bilbo frowned. “Thanks for the reminder. I was ignoring the dragon problem quite successfully until now. Please, Thorin, tell me you have a plan.”

“Maybe. There are several possibilities I’m contemplating in light of the recent intelligence.” Thorin grumbled. “And elves unexpectedly joining our cause.”

“Thank Yavanna.” Bilbo breathed out the words in relief. “I was afraid we were going into this blindly. So, me looking for a shiny stone in the piles of shiny stones is not going to happen.” 

“You won’t go anywhere near the dragon if I have something to say about it,” Thorin exclaimed vehemently while he pulled his guide in the convenient little closet. He rested his forehead gently on Bilbo’s and finally admitted what he was struggling with for months. “My instincts won’t allow me to let you face the beast if there is even a minuscule chance you’ll be hurt.”

Bilbo nestled against the strong body of his sentinel. “Won’t the completing our bonding help?”

“Not so much,” Thorin said and tilted the hobbit’s face up. “The dwarrow are very possessive of their Ones, and a dwarf sentinel is twice as overbearing.”

“Forget I said anything.” Bilbo winced at the thought of what he was getting into with agreeing to bond with Thorin. At least there was a great chance he wouldn’t be returning to the Shire anytime soon, or ever, so nob was going to be lambasting him over the fact his chosen was a foreigner and a dwarf to boot. Not that was in any way a deterrent. Once he met his sentinel and made a connection to him, it was decided. And he stood firmly behind his choice. Bilbo pulled down the dwarf and captured his lips in a kiss. 

* * *

_It is a lovely patio_ , Gimli thought as she stared out into the evening. The cold breeze blew and played with her unbound hair. It was hard to find time alone in the midst of a group of males to tend to her hair. It was getting too tangled. The dam hissed as she tried to comb her curls. They weren’t cooperating and she hated that. She missed Izgilê at that moment more than in any given moment since she regained her memories. Celebrimbor had a deft hand and was very willing to play with her hair for hours. It made her curious how adept Legolas would be at braiding.

Gimli stiffened when she sensed an increasingly familiar presence near her. Quickly twisting her hair in the utilitarian braid, she stared up at the intruder. 

“There you are,” Legolas said and put a plate in front of her. “Tilda insisted you got a cake.”

“Thank you.” Gimli managed to piece together some semblance of manners. It was hard after months on the road in the constant presence of her often very rude companions. The dam loved the sweets and hoped the cake was as delicious as it looked. 

“Are we finally going to talk about it, Lukhdel?” Gimli’s secret name slipped from Legolas’s lips easily as if he called her that hundreds of times. 

Gimli put down the fork, frowning at the sentinel, and steeled herself for the unavoidable confrontation. “I’m not going to apologize, Legolas. What your father did was a crime. The knowingly suppress a sentinel? His own son? It was an attack on our bond and I couldn’t let it stand. The Valar evidently agreed with me.”

“I wasn’t talking about that.” Legolas waved her concern away. He wasn’t interested in rehashing Gimli’s role in the judgement when their wolves took care of providing a satisfactory explanation. She purposely misunderstood and was going to be difficult. “I’m talking about Narví. And Celebrimbor.”

Gimli winced. “Could we not? By now it’s ancient history. Literally.”

“I’m not sure how I can reconcile the vivid memories of your death, of my death and the new lives we’ve been granted,” Legolas said and rested his forehead against his guide’s. “You died and left me, Lukhdel. It was the most wretched thing I had to endure.”

“Legolas. Nothing changed.” Gimli sighed heavily and explained gently. She long realized she would leave him alone in the world once again. A cruel fate, indeed. “I’m still a mortal. One day, hopefully far in the future, I will leave you. No, listen to me. You know I am right. Narví and Celebrimbor never touched this subject to their detriment.”

“I will follow you,” Legolas replied firmly. The thought of living forever without his guide was making him ill. The agony of their bond breaking was lingering in his mind even after he entrusted Eirik to safeguard Celebrimbor’s memories until there was a better time to go over them in detail.

“No, amralimê. I don’t want that.” Gimli tightened the hold on her elf, as she tried to grasp fleeting fragments of memories of her sad existence in the afterlife. “It didn’t help Narví and Celebrimbor. They were separated even in death and you know it. I… Narví resided in the Halls of her ancestors and you were taken into Mandos’s Halls. It won’t be any different now. It’s our burden to bear.”

“I don’t want to be parted from you ever again,” Legolas confessed quietly to his guide. “Even if I have to defy the Valar, I…”

 _There you are. What took you so long to seek privacy?_ Ylva hopped in obnoxiously into their heart-to-heart conversation. _We have a lot to discuss, and there isn’t any time left._

 _YLVA!!!_ Gimli rolled her eyes at the temperamental she-wolf, and stepped away from her sentinel’s embrace, before the meaning of the wolf’s words registered in her mind. 

_The darkness is rising at an unprecedented rate. You were asked to return to try to halt its spread and loosen its stranglehold on the Arda._ Eirik enlightened them when he took over his mate.

 _Our task? You hinted about it before, I think, but didn’t elaborate._ Gimli asked as her mind flashed back to Bilbo’s ring. 

_It’s not important right now. More concerning is the dragon occupying the mountain and the method of his death._ Ylva joined in the conversation. The things were in the flux right now. A lot was hanging on the way the dragon was going to be disposed of. The psionic plane was fairly vibrating with the possibilities. It was hard to find the correct way and prod her charge towards it. Smaug’s death was a crucial point, from which things could go in different ways. For better or for worse.


	13. Part 12

“I hope you aren’t going to do what I think you are trying to accomplish, are you?” Legolas murmured at the dam’s back. They were camping just outside the secret door they’d discovered using the map and the keys, Gandalf entrusted to Thorin. Everyone was deeply asleep when dam decided to go on the stroll. 

Gimli jumped a foot into the air in fright and turned around to pierce the elf with her gaze threateningly. “You almost gave me a heart attack. And to answer your question. Yes. Thousand times yes.”

Legolas sighed and pulled the dam toward his body. “Oh, you stubborn dwarf. You don’t have to prove anything to me or anyone else.”

“I’m not trying to do that, Legolas.” The dam made herself comfortable in his embrace, soaking up the beginnings of love that started to bloom in the elf’s heart, a different flavour from Celebrimbor’s. Gimli closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she explained her reasoning. “I won’t allow Bilbo to go in there. As much as I hid, as much as I didn’t want to tip my hand, I’m stronger than Thorin’s guide. The Valar might have broken mould when making Bilbo, but still… There is too much of peace-loving soul hidden inside his body, I’m unsure he would be able to pull off the deception needed for fooling the dragon.”

“And he isn’t bonded,” Legolas added thoughtfully, seeing where his guide was going. “Thorin won’t be able to shield him against the darkness and the dragon’s greed.”

Gimi snuggled deeper into her sentinel’s embrace and sighed. “Perhaps, their preliminary bond is strong enough. Or perhaps not. I’m not going to take a risk. You are not going to stop me.”

Legolas slid one of his palms, caressing dam’s cheek gently and tilted her head up to force her to look into his eyes. “I’m not losing you when I’ve just found you. I’m going with you, so deal with it. Besides, Smaug and I have some unfinished business.”

“Legolas…” The dam trailed off when she caught the elf’s resolve to follow her. She pulled his head down and put a little kiss on his lips in thankfulness. She didn’t wish to face the dragon alone, no matter how she protested his inclusion.

“Do you have a plan? Or something?” Flustered elf asked. There wasn’t time for the passion he read in Gimli’s eyes. Not now, when they had just decided on a suicidal little mission to kill the dragon.”

Gimli opened her empathy and sighed. “Smaug is sleeping, but only lightly. In a few more weeks he would have woken up all of his own. We have to tread carefully. I can pinpoint where he is currently resting, but I’m not sure about the exact location.” The dam revealed. 

“His nest is probably in the royal treasury. I know the way.” Legolas admitted. Taking a bow in his hand he pulled reluctantly away from the dam and the peace she excluded and nodded towards the easily overlooked air vent. “I’ll give you a boost.” The elf murmured. 

Gimli nodded and let herself lifted to the hole in the stone wall. Warily, she climbed in the narrow tunnel and crawled inside, hoping against all hope she didn’t just sign her death warrant. Well, hers and her sentinel’s. Legolas’s presence was a steady comfort at her back when they continued deeper inside the mountain’s bowels.

“Uff.” Gimli groaned as she fell out the vent shaft onto the ground. She glared at the sentinel who nimbly landed on his feet, quirking his lips into a smile. The dam climbed back on her feet and dusted off her trousers. 

The guide zeroed immediately on the greedy presence looming behind the large doors. “He is awake,” Gimli whispered.

“Not good. Eirik, come here.” Legolas called his wolf. Both spirit animals appeared like they were only waiting for the invitation to join the fun. 

_I see you took it into your head to tackle the dragon problem all on your own. That was foolish, Legolas._ The wolf reprimanded his charge. _Or did you forget how it went last time?_

The elf shrugged. _I remember exactly how it went. It was something I’ve revisited in my nightmares often enough._

_And you still insist on this foolishness. And dragging your guide into this mess._

_Enough, Eirik._ Gimli interrupted the wolf’s rant. _It was all my idea. Legolas just followed to protect me. As a good sentinel should._

 _Lukhdel. I can’t believe you’ve advocated this foolishness._ Eirik was lost at words.

 _I can._ Ylva joined the conversation. _Right, Gimli?_

 _Reprimand me later. I need you and Ylva to go inside._ Gimli motioned at the closed doors. _Some intel would be greatly appreciated. We know he is awake. But we need more information. So, please, can you help us?_

The wolves nodded and disappeared from the room. And within a blink of an eye, they were back, panting heavily. 

_What’s happened?_

_Not sure, but we can’t go in with you._ Eirik said regretfully. Ylva only whined helplessly and lost hold on her form on the physical plane. _The dragon has a weakness besides his eyes. He had to be clipped by one of the famed black arrows when he attacked the human town. The poison had insured the wound didn’t heal. It’s barely visible, but it shouldn’t be a problem for Legolas to use his bow and arrows to kill the beast._

 _Its location, Eirik._ Legolas asked impatiently. The sooner he would know his target, the better. He didn’t like his guide in so much danger he was practically helpless to prevent. 

_On his throat._ Eirik uttered, prepared to follow his mate. He gave the last bits of wisdom to the stubborn guide. _And Gimli. Do something about the Arkenstone, when you’ll have a chance. It’s terrible to be in its presence._

“It isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Legolas commented, a plan formulating in his head. He didn’t like it but he was forced to ask Gimli for assistance. Even if he would be glad to see his guide as far away from the entire situation as possible.

“Gimli, are you up to playing the bait?” He asked.

The dam nodded, immediately understanding what the sentinel was asking of her. She knew he had superior skills with his chosen weapon. Better eyesight too. And when he finally unlocked his abilities in full he was uniquely suited to take care of any threat to his guide. Smaug was such a threat, considering his parting words when flew away to sleep in the dwarf mountain.

“I can smell you, thieves.” The dragon rumbled out impatiently from his lair. “Come in. Come in.”

“Duck to left, then to right and let me have a clean shot at him.” The elf instructed quickly.

“Right. Just, please, try to make the hit count.” Gimli nodded in understanding.

“Don’t die.” The elf retorted and let the shadows conceal his presence.

“Same to you.” The dam replied shortly and slipped inside.

The treasury was a sight to see. The entirety of the wealth of a dwarf kingdom amassed at one place. Gimli understood now why Smaug was attracted to Erebor. Massive amounts of gold, silver and mithril, not to mention precious gems, various valued heirlooms were lying haphazardly on the ground. The Arkenstone shone prettily in the middle of the room, directly under the dragon’s scarily taloned paw. 

The beast sniffed and sneezed unhappily. “A guide. Dwarf guide. What is a dwarf guide doing here? Tell me, little guide, why had you come.”

Gimli steeled herself, shrugging Smaug’s compelling suggestion to talk, and connected her empathy to the dragon. She poured as much sleepiness in the connection as she dared. “I was curious.”

The dragon rumbled out a burst of disbelieving laughter. “Curious, the guide says. I don’t believe you, dwarf. Not when you stink of an elf. And not just any elf. An elf sentinel. But…” The dragon snarled. “Prince Legolas. I thought we had an accord.”

The sentinel sneaked around, hoping his guide lured the beast in the middle of the room, and he would have enough room to take a clean shot. Soundlessly, he hopped on one of the broken pillars. It was a perfect place to make an attempt and shoot at the dragon. 

“An accord you’ve had every intention of breaking as soon as it was convenient for you. I hope you didn’t think I wasn’t able to read your intentions. You were transparent as fuck.” Legolas retorted, murmuring a blessing over his arrows.

“Maybe.” The dragon allowed. “However, it is an elf breaking his word first.”

Gimli firmly ignored Legolas baiting the dragon. She was concentrating on weaving the sleepiness deep into Smaug’s mind. It was hard because the dragon species were, as a rule, too willy to just kill off without a lot of preparation or subterfuge. Little by little she braided the chains of tiredness and exhaustion, peppered with an extra dose of laziness over the dragon’s indomitable will. It was delicate work and with a sigh, she was done. 

The dragon, more intent on the threat of the elf sentinel, was caught off guard. He yawned and tried to struggle, fighting tooth and nail to stay conscious, knowing it was a matter of his life and death. Gimli tightened the hold on her empathy, ramping up everything into the next level. Smaug staggered and fell down.

“I forgot about the guides… My mistake.” The dragon rumbled, before trying his last weapon and sent out a burst of fire in Gimli’s direction. The guide stood firmly, refusing to waver in the face of the mortal danger. “Now, Legolas.” She shouted. “Shoot now.”

The sentinel obeyed and within the next heartbeat, he aimed for the small wound on the dragon’s throat and shot. Gimli ducked and narrowly avoided the continuous stream of dragon fire. 

The arrow hit true, burrowing deeply into the dragon’s neck. Smaug snorted once. Twice. And his head hit the floor of the treasury, forcing the coins to roll in every direction. By some strange luck, the King’s gem, Arkenstone, ended up flying through the air and landed right in front of Gimli’s feet.

“Are you all right? Gimli? Answer me.” Legolas ran to the dam, checking her for injuries. Gimli didn’t look like she was seriously injured, she was just a bit signed. Her clothes and hair were a mess and she was sneezing viciously at the dust the dragon’s corpse disturbed when it finally fell on the ground.

“Just tired. And praying for a meal and a rest.” Gimli waved him away and focused back on the dragon. It was deader than dead. The vicious old thing rattled her with his strength and ability to use the last moments of his life to attack her. Fortunately, her shields held and she didn’t have to suffer to feel Smaug’s death. 

“I thought we agreed on a different plan.” Legolas half-heartedly scolded the dam, relieved she was all right. His heart almost stopped when he noticed what the dam was doing. It was foolish and it probably saved his life.

Gimli shrugged. “He was focused on you. I took the chance and decided to tweak your plan. I admit it wasn’t easy, but it was for the best. Don’t you think?”

“Lukhdel,” Legolas uttered her name as both – the benediction and admonishment. “I’m not in any way prepared to see you die again any time soon. So, please, please, do me a favour and try to stay safe.”

“I’m a warrior first, Izgilê. And a jeweller the second.” Gimli said gently like it explained her actions. “Don’t confuse me with Narví. I’m not quite as sheltered as she was, thanks to my upbringing in the exile.”

The rest of Company stumbled into the treasury, weapons primed for the fight before the elf could find some words to refute her last statement.


	14. Part 13

“What’s the meaning of this?” Thorin snarled angrily at his cousin and the elf sentinel that was hers. The pair looked startled, like children caught with their hands in a cookie jar. It was ridiculous in the context of the dead dragon sprawled behind them. He was half of the mind to wring their necks for the recklessness they had displayed by taking on the dragon on their own. Why couldn’t they wait for all of them to wake up to formulate some kind of plan? There were more sentinels and guides in their group, not just them.

“Gimli,” Gloín shouted and stomped towards his daughter. Relieved, she was all right, he took her into arms, holding her tightly. She was in so much trouble it wasn’t funny. His wife was going to kill him when she learns he allowed her to face the dragon. And Gimli… she was going to be grounded for all eternity.

“Adad.” Gimli sighed, and crumpled in her father’s arms, the excitement of the entire situation finally subsiding, leaving her empty and exhausted. “We took care of the dragon. Did you see it? A thank you would be appreciated. And a bath. Definitely a bath.” Gimli rambled, waving at the mess of her clothes. 

“Thank you,” Thorin said promptly when his anger subsided. He couldn’t believe Legolas allowed his guide anywhere near the dragon. The entire journey, he was trying to find a way for Bilbo to never come face to face with the beast, and not coming up with anything was frustrating. Until Gimi and the elf took it upon themselves to deal with the pest. For that, he was thankful. Staring at the elf prince in their midst, after being elbowed none too gently by his hobbit, Thorin sighed. “And I suppose you want to stay, Legolas.”

“My place is with my guide.” Legolas insisted, his eyes drawn towards Gimli. He was very unsubtle about his interest in the dam.

Thorin turned his eyes upwards, praying for patience. Gloín is going to blow his gasket when he finally realizes what was going on directly under his nose. He couldn’t wait. It was going to be entertaining. Maybe as entertaining as Dís finding out her precious son was bonded to an elf sentinel. The king smirked. “You are welcomed to the guest quarters, Legolas. We need to make a quick inspection of the damage sustained there, but that part of Erebor was tucked away from the initial dragon attack. And Gimli.” He turned to the dam, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. “The bath is that way.”

The dam wasted no time and headed straight for the door. She inclined her head inquiringly at the elf and he obediently followed after her out of the treasury.

“They are rather obvious. I don’t know how the others didn’t cotton on it as soon as they saw them together. The attraction they harbour towards the other is ridiculously strong. If I didn’t know for certain they’ve met only a couple of days ago, I would say they were already bonded for several decades.” Bilbo murmured to his sentinel, while he kept track of the retreating dam and her elf.

“The awareness they carry of each other is preternatural.” Thorin agreed. “But I think it has more to do with their previous incarnations.”

Bilbo glared balefully. Bebother and confusticate that obtuse dwarf. “What are you talking about, Thorin?” 

The dwarf hesitated about revealing secret lore to his guide before he shrugged it off and explained. “When the block on Legolas’s abilities finally broke down, his presence deepened with a feeling of age. It was so strong I don’t know how anybody could miss it. And Gimli is the same. The dwarf lore says that Durin, the father of my line, was a sentinel of great strength. As soon as he awakened his gifts in each of his lives, his presence deepened similarly, reflecting the wisdom of his cumulative age. It couldn’t be faked. Every gifted, be it sentinel or guide, knew who he was as soon as they’d met him.”

“Durin? Like getting reborn for several times? That Durin?” Bilbo frowned, before thinking things through. “It would make sense for Gimli to be reborn. I did think it was strange how quickly she got hold of her abilities without any instruction. Fine, I can believe they are reborn. However, I’ve never heard about interracial bonding. Not until we’ve met.” 

Thorin closed his eyes tiredly. There was only one such couple in all of dwarrow history. The implications of their return were daunting. “There was one such pairing. About an Age ago.” Bilbo looked up curiously at his sentinel. Thorin was helpless to resist the pleading for more information he read in his guide’s eyes and elaborated. “Narví was a dwarf princess and Durin’s cousin, and a guide of immense strength. She was a very sought after dam. Much like our Gimli. She and that elf of hers caused quite a scandal when they bonded. Well, at least he was also of royal blood. Only scion of his house to remain in Arda after the devastating wars of the First Age.”

“Narví?” Bilbo murmured. “I think I’ve heard that name mentioned in Imladris. Something about Moria and gate and Celebrimbor’s folly.”

“Celebrimbor was the name of her bonded sentinel. The elf lord of Eregion. It is said they were the strongest pair west of Misty Mountains and all sentinels and guides in Eriador answered to them. Unfortunately, they were killed shortly before Sauron made his first move and razed elves’ capital to the ground. I worry…” Thorin trailed off.

“You worry what it means for the world when the Valar decided to send them back.” Bilbo finished gently. 

The dwarf sentinel nodded shortly. “In retrospect, it was easy to see Narví’s and Celebrimbor’s bonding heralded the rise of Sauron. When I look at Gimli and Thranduil’s son, their instant connection suggests something about our circumstances I’m hesitant to voice aloud.”

An immense joy of the bonded souls reunited flooded the entire Mountain, hitting them all unexpectedly. Bilbo staggered under the weight of Gimli’s feelings. The knowledge of the dam and elf bonding settled in his mind, as well as their rank as the strongest pair in the Rhovanion.

“They couldn’t wait for a bit longer?” Thorin rolled his eyes and ordered Dwalin sharply. “Stop Glóin.” 

“Can’t,” Dwalin replied while he predatorily stalked towards Nori. The thief smirked and ran, triggering sentinel’s more feral instincts. 

Thorin looked around trying to find anyone not too affected by Gimli’s bonding. Kíli grabbed Tauriel’s hand and vanished somewhere to seek privacy. Even he was rapidly losing his tenuous control over his instincts when flushed Bilbo wandered off. Dori and Ori were standing with their mouths open at the brash way their brother instigated the hunt. Balin wasn’t much better. “Fíli, please.” He asked his older nephew. The blond dwarf nodded and grabbed Gloín around the waist to prevent him tearing through the mountain searching for Gimli.

Glóin roared in anger when he finally grasped what happened. “My daughter.”

* * *

Legolas laid on his side, relaxed like never before, and looked down at naked Gimli. She was still breathing heavily, the satisfaction written in her face. The dam was beautiful when enjoying the afterglow. He trailed a finger down her arm and tangled his fingers with hers. It felt like he had finally found his home. 

“Stop staring,” Gimli whispered and blew the hair out of her face. The shields were back in the place around both their minds, impenetrable and stronger than mithril. The memories of previous life settled back and she felt it was the same for her sentinel. The dam didn’t know how Durin endured such a thing in each and every of his new lives when it was hard for her not to get overwhelmed by Narví’s memories. 

“I can’t,” Legolas admitted. “I’ve missed you too much. I’ve missed all of this.”

“Me too,” Gimli confessed and rolled over. She ended up lying her head on the elf’s chest and listening to his heartbeat. It was slowly calming down from its furious beat. “We are filthy. We’ll have to wash up again.” The dam murmured out of blue.

“Later.” The sentinel replied, while he idly wrote various runes on her back with his fingers. He was wallowing in the feel of his guide in his embrace. “I’m not finished with savouring you.”

Gimli bushed. The elf was getting too bold. She traced Kuzdul rune denoting the name she gave him a lifetime ago over and over again on his chest, trying to think up a way to turn tables on him. Although, she wasn’t opposed to his plan. It had been an eternity since they were so close to each other. 

“I love you.” The dam braved to utter those words. It felt like she was parting with some huge secret. It was the easiest thing she ever said.

The sentinel’s hands stopped their exploring of her skin when he heard those words. “I love you too.” Legolas rushed to answer her. 

Gimli smiled. The bond was pulsing with their all-consuming feelings. It was indescribable to be loved like that. And everything she had always wanted. 

The mood in the room changed abruptly when one by one several sentinel-guide bondings bloomed and deepened in quick succession. The pleasure engulfed them, igniting their passion all over again. Legolas leaned down, kissing his lover, his soft exploring touches changing their path and reaching out for Gimli’s hotspots. The dam moaned and pulled him tighter against her body.

 _They are finally together._ Ylva said and cuddled to her mate. Their charges were preoccupied with each other and didn’t notice the presence of their wolves. 

_It was bound to happen, eventually._ Eirik remarked dryly. _The Valar woved they would find each other again when they agreed to be reborn and stand against the darkness that was coming._

 _I was getting worried._ Ylva admitted and then sighed. _It’s coming soon. And they are not ready._

 _Perhaps._ Eirik allowed. _Perhaps not. We don’t know that for sure._

_Both of them are so young. Lukhdel is barely of age, and maturity-wise Legolas is not much older than her. Narví and Celebrimbor met later in their lives, when they were well-settled in their lives and careers, and knew themselves and their limitations._

_They’ll grow together._ Eirik tried to calm the other wolf down. _And maybe that is for the best. They’ll become stronger for it. Better equipped to deal with everything._

 _Knowing what we know, I don’t like it in the least._ Ylva pouted. _You saw the Weaver’s tapestry, same as me. I’m convinced we should be doing more to prepare them for what is to come._

 _It isn’t our place. We can advise and guide them but ultimately they have to find their own way in the world._ Eirik pointed out and nudged Ylva with his snout. _Come on, let them finish their bonding in peace. We can always come to bother them later._

 _Fine._ Ylva shot back and shimmered out of the room. Eirik took one last look at the pair and followed his short-tempered mate to their den.


	15. Epilogue

_Ost-in-Edhil was peacefully slumbering. Celebrimbor’s city was soothed by Narví’s presence. It was strange how the wards reacted to his guide every time the dam accompanied him. Overwhelmingly welcoming, that was Narví’s description. It was hard, splitting their time between Khazad-dûm and Eregion, but necessary. Narví was quite put out to be saddled with the ambassadorial duties by her smirking cousin, as soon as they finished their bonding. On the other hand, it allowed them to travel freely between their respective realms._

_“What do you think about Annantar?” Celebrimbor asked his guide suddenly, looking up from the parchments on his desk. He hated paperwork with a passion of thousands of balrogs set upon their unsuspecting victims. It always bred in alarmingly fast fashion when he was out of the city. He was glad for any distraction._

_The dam resurfaced from her meditation, the gentle blue glow slowly dying off, and disconnected herself from the city wards gently. She cocked her head curiously, staring at her One, considering carefully her answer. “He is extraordinarily talented, I give him that. Maybe more talented than both of us put together.”_

_“But?” Celebrimbor prodded his guide, seeing she had more on her mind. They were bonded for decades, and after all of that time, he was very apt to guess her thoughts._

_Narví hesitated before she shrugged it off and continued with her assessment. “But there is something he is hiding. Some kind of secret that itches to be uncovered. It makes me curious. Why are you asking?”_

_“Well… I liked the ideas he came up with.” Celebrimbor started, standing up abruptly from his desk and kneeled in front of his guide. She was still beautiful, even after a century they had been bonded. Although, her gorgeous black hair was starting to thread with silver and the laugh lines around her eyes deepened. Celebrimbor dismissed the worries about the obvious signs of Narví’s ageing and turned back to matter at hand. He took the dam’s hands reverently in his and put a soft kiss on her left wrist. “Exactly on this day a century ago, you’ve made me the happiest elf in all of Arda. You’ve chosen me of all available males in your life and gifted me with your love. Please, accept this token as a sign of my gratitude for your bright presence in my life.”_

_The dam’s mouth dropped open in surprise, as Celebrimbor put something in her hand fairly vibrating with power. Narví didn’t know it was possible to capture even a sliver of psionic energy in a tangible object. The feeling of endless love washed over her, familiar warmth of her sentinel’s soul, cradled her in a protective cocoon. The dam teared up, overwhelmed by the display of her sentinel’s devotion._

_And Gimli gasped, as she saw a familiar ring lying innocently on Narví’s palm._

**The End**


End file.
